


Addiction

by habitualsarcasm



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Complicated Relationships, Confusing feels, Especially Soundwave's Feels, Everyone else is mischievous, M/M, Mentions of Non-Con/Underage (kinda), Mild inebriation, My favourites must suffer, Seeker Heat Cycles, Soundwave does not know what a crush is, Soundwave has a crush, Spider Bitch, Starscream is freaking out, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Teenage girls are devious creatures, relationships are hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:46:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 52,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5422805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/habitualsarcasm/pseuds/habitualsarcasm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soundwave doesn't understand what he's feeling, but it's dangerous. Starscream is already addicted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. See the Signs But You Can't Read

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What am I supposed to say here? Does anyone read these? No. The answer is no. So I'm just going to go ahead and tell everyone here that I do a fantastic impression of What's Up and I am not talking about Four Non-blondes, I'm talking about He-Man. I sincerely hope this song gets stuck in your head for eternity. It is a good song despite being terrible.

He doesn't _mean_ to seem suspicious.

Soundwave has never gotten used to interacting with others, and sometimes it shows, but particularly when he can't control what distracts him. He can settle disturbances in the ranks by simply approaching those involved, or, in more serious cases, contacting Megatron. He can block out noise and can reign in his EM field so that nothing gets into his personal space. Any outside distractions attempting to come in are effectively rendered null and void.

What he _can't_ control is this impulse to stare. It's a distraction that works from the inside out.

Starscream is glaring at him (again) and his helm swivels dutifully back to his work. The spy's fingers fly over the keypad flawlessly. He doesn't need to be looking at the screen; he can see what he's working on through his visor because he's quite literally plugged in to the system...except Soundwave really should be. He's usually looking at the screen, and Starscream is beginning to notice that his behaviour is increasingly abnormal. 

Soundwave does not know how to handle his dilemma. Pain, annoyance, anger, depression, those are all things he has learned to bridle so that they do not affect his work. He has a certain technique for those. He doesn't yet have a clear procedure for more pleasant things. Like the way Starscream's wings twitch every so often, and the way he talks with his servos, and the way his optics are bright and full of life, and the way his thin legs connect to his hips. He doesn't understand - he knows exactly _what_ he's experiencing (at least, the definition of it, maybe not what it entails), but he doesn't know _why_. And Soundwave hates incomprehension. 

The only thing that contents him right now is to stare, and it only serves to complicate things further. Frustration has already wormed its way into his processor, different types of the feeling, and at different levels. He withdraws from the console in preemptive measure - Soundwave knows he will not be functioning optimally if he continues like this. He pulls up his scheduling on his HUD, marking the next groon as a break. He has accumulated many seldom-used periods of "vacation time" and technically, it's enough to cover his absence for an entire year, possibly more. Being third-in-command has its perks, and he is perfectly within his boundaries to use them. But even this groon has made a ripple in the pond, as Starscream directs a very suspicious, very curious glance at him. Soundwave's exit from the command center is collected and silent.

Nothing betrays the fact that he is struggling internally.

As per usual.

Eventually, the mech makes it back to his quarters, in what seems like a solar cycle but is actually only around seven kliks. He is far away from noise and from other mechs - he specifically requested these quarters because of their distance (and rarely does Megatron deny him something, which is nice, at least he gets recognition in some way). The solitude does nothing to calm him down. All of his systems are running hot as the searing image of _Starscream_ creeps into his processor and sticks, refusing to leave. Soundwave's fingers agitatedly pull the edges of his visor. He retracts it so that they can instead pull at his own faceplates. He can't even cycle air properly, for crying out loud. The smooth metal of his berth is a comfort underneath him, but not an impactful one. The anxiety still rushes through him like his own sparkpulse.

It's a mix of courtship and interface protocols flying through his system, and he likes neither those nor the overheating they're causing. Soundwave's social experience is limited, and an interest of such a personal nature makes him nauseous (society is that one thing he might admit being a little afraid of). To top it off, his systems appear to have designated one of the most, if not the most inappropriate object of affection. Why Starscream? Why now, of all times? What the frag is he supposed to do? He can't remain in this state, staring down his _commander_ without explanation.

Primus, he can't even come up with an explanation that makes sense to himself. Soundwave offlines his optics. He doesn't think he has recordings pertaining to this sort of thing if he were to _try_ and explain. Starscream is just so...different.

Starscream is loud. Bold - he doesn't exactly care what others think of him, or what they hear him say, unless physical harm is involved. There's no doubt that the seeker is a physically attractive mech. Soundwave isn't clear on why he's only just begun to be affected by this, either. It's never had much consequence in his eyes before. Maybe the trigger is the constant invasion of his personal space?

Starscream is not the bravest mech Soundwave knows, but he's certainly one of the smartest. Maybe that's got something to do with this; Starscream's aptitude. Soundwave thinks if he bothered to use his voice (which he won't do) they would have some interesting conversations. And he thinks Starscream is a capable enough leader, when he's given the opportunity, even if he does let ambition get in the way of that. He freezes at the thought of someone knowing this, or worse yet, learning what these emotions tend to simply waive.

The seeker must know that Soundwave has evidence of treasonous behaviour. Even his reluctance to investigate the reappearance of Megatron's life signature would be enough to put Starscream in serious trouble.

And really, Soundwave should be handing it to Megatron.

If things were normal, he _would_ be.

But he can't bring himself to do that. And he needs to understand why he can't ( _why is that so hard?_ ). The mech groans and sits up on his berth, desperately trying to ignore the burn that builds behind his interface panel.

It outright horrifies him.

He shouldn't feel like this - he _doesn't_ feel like this, never has. This is not a rare occasion; it is a premiere occasion. And for Primus' sake, the mech is one of only two that rank above him, a traitor when it suits him, incredibly obnoxious, very much narcissistic, and - oh, very important - hates everyone. Including the spy. Soundwave cringes. He can come up with reasons why he shouldn't find himself drawn to Starscream, but it won't change the fact that he already does, and probably will continue.

Why does he want to believe there's more for him in this destructive equation? He berates himself as his digits creep towards his interface panel, feeling ashamed even as his systems greedily push him forward. This won't go away. He's running out of alternatives. It makes his faceplates burn, but it could work.

The shame gets increasingly worse as he's digging into his own seams, trying to relieve the pressure. Soundwave doesn't look as he curls his servo around himself, succumbing to the frustration and confusion. It feels _terrible_ to his processor, so carefully tuned to self-control, but it's relief for his frame. He doesn't stop himself. He doesn't stop thinking about Starscream and what Starscream might sound like or act like if they were...more. The spy's thoughts aren't coherent, just flashes of the seeker. The guilt swells, floods his frame, in tandem with the kind of physical pleasure he's incurring. The overwhelming current of regret drowns out any mental enjoyment.

It's dirty and quick and awful, so awful, even as his frame tenses in overload. The tension bleeds away, and he's thankful that he gets a few nanokliks with a calm, unbothered processor, until recalibration kicks in. The transfluid has made a mess - he's already a mess - and he gets up to retrieve a cloth and clean himself. His helm sinks in resignation as his interface panel snicks shut. It's a release of stress, but it does nothing for the troubled emotions. Absolutely nothing. He caves in defeat - just his luck, that he's made it even worse.

He's thought of why he shouldn't blatantly stare at the seeker, thought of all the ways he could go wrong (there are so many of them), thought everything from completely ignoring the problem to picking out one of Starscream's flaws and harping on it until he's legitimately _angry_ it exists, he's tried.

Soundwave suddenly doesn't think he can handle a pleasant emotion. Every one he's ever had has turned and assaulted him in a flash of unexpected hurt. His faceplates are on fire now with the humiliation of what he's just done. He's _touched himself_ fantasizing about _his commanding officer_. The visor slides back into place, even though he's in the safety of his own quarters and in control of the security feed. He's slipped, and it's a large slip-up as far as he's concerned.

He has to stop this; he has to pull himself together. He already acknowledges its inherent inappropriateness, and this is not enough to deter his conflicted processor, nor will it be. The only option left in the situation makes Soundwave so uncomfortable that he adds another groon to his scheduled "break time", not sure if he can even collect himself by then. 

Pursuit.

\- - - - -

Starscream is vibrating with anger and annoyance. The past few breems have been total confusion - he can't put his finger on why Soundwave is out of sorts. And he's not crazy. The already strange mech is escalating in strangeness. He doesn't like it.

If Starscream is observing correctly (of _course_ he is), this isn't the first time the spy has randomly decided to stare him down. It's an uncomfortable feeling, like something is crawling up his back, before he turns to see that visor facing his direction. He _doesn't like it_. The seeker has attempted to gain more insight from noticeable signs, but to no avail. Soundwave's EM field is held so tightly around him that Starscream would probably have to make physical contact to gather any semblance of it. There are no facial expressions to go by, there is no body language except the stiff way that Soundwave walks and nods, the way he always walks and nods.

Basically, Soundwave is a datapad that's been encrypted on every level of entry. 

Starscream is unable to read him. 

What he does notice, however, is the general sense of odd attachment he's getting from the spy, and it _flusters_ him. Starscream does not appreciate being unaware of the intent behind it. He begrudgingly appreciates the consistent updates on how the progress of the mines develop, and the alerts that he probably needs to refuel (somehow Soundwave is always right about that), but is still suspicious of _why_ Soundwave keeps looking at him.

Or is he?

Starscream isn't sure. _No face, remember?_

It makes him very anxious, enough to spend a few kliks actually considering what Soundwave might be getting at. First and foremost on that list is something for Megatron, in some way, shape, or form. It immediately infuriates the seeker, and he clenches his fists. Soundwave is capable of drawing information out of a mech in many ways; Starscream has never seen this done, does not know how it is done, but is aware that it has happened. Many times has their leader ordered something similar when Soundwave has been sent on a reconnaissance mission. 

But he doesn't _have_ any information that Megatron doesn't already have, does he? Starscream racks his processor for anything and cringes. Of course, information from before Megatron's arrival is still under wraps. But even if Megatron wanted a truthful report of this, would he not use the patch?

The next thought is worse - if Soundwave is going to attempt to blackmail him. The paranoia here is also well-founded; rumors surfacing all over the ship suggest Soundwave has done this in the past, too. So why not just use the information now? Why get any 'friendlier' (if such a word could apply to the spy)? Is it because Soundwave does not yet have any significant evidence to blackmail him with?

Starscream backpedals from these trains of thought. They're not making sense as of the present. He considers potential...personal? motivations. Soundwave may be working him over in order to gain approval or a better standing on another issue at a later time. This he does not put beneath the mech, either; always sucking up to Megatron, the slagger, Starscream mentally spits. And they _do_ often dispute over the mining operations, or squadron training, or the use of the energon reserves. Starscream believes this supposition is a good contender for the real motive. In all probability, Soundwave is attempting to achieve more leverage when they inevitably clash by being _nice_.

Starscream laughs at this, once, a brief, harsh snort. Oh, that won't do. Soundwave doesn't really think Starscream won't see through this, does he? In any case, that is - the spy will learn his lesson.

And then Starscream's train of thought pauses, again, and turns in a new direction. He could manipulate this to his own advantage. Soundwave's support could be very, _very_ beneficial, if he is to play along. ('Play him right back', whispers his processor.) There is little chance he would sway Soundwave's loyalties, but he considers possible outcomes. He might, with less distance between them, be able to coax Soundwave into allowing leeway that would otherwise be unachievable. In effect, make him _unknowingly_ assist in Megatron's downfall.

('When you're next in the mood to try,' says his processor.)

But the seeker's internal components stall at the thought of attempting real interaction with the mech. A chance opportunity, a gamble, has surfaced, and Starscream is nothing if not an opportunist...but the gamble is altogether risky. And he isn't as comfortable as he's used to being in these kind of lots, since the spy is involved and he isn't familiar with the way Soundwave thinks. The seeker weighs the circumstances, deciding to proceed with caution.

He won't actively shun the strange behaviour, but he won't be untroubled by it, either. If anything too shady begins to occur, he'll pay due attention to the red flags. Starscream views this as a very wise decision - besides, he can observe in the meantime. Maybe then Soundwave's motivations will be clarified.

\- - - - -

Soundwave resumes his post with the air about him that nothing is amiss, despite the unwavering curiosity thrown his way by Starscream. He records logs from the Vehicons working in the mines as soon as they come in, transferring them to the mainframe. He places the information in the algorithm that projects their growth for the next four solar cycles (he mentally thanks his team of Vehicons for that because he wouldn't have had time to calibrate it) - at least one of the mines, he thinks, is not going to last much longer. Already its productivity has declined. A scout team should be sent out soon.

It's not imperative; their reserves are presently sufficient, and so he can leave it alone for now. The spy is also not particularly inclined to report this to Starscream just yet, though he knows it will eventually need to be done. 

As if on cue, the seeker stalks up from behind him, servos clasped behind his back and wings hiked high. Soundwave does not pay this much attention, directing his focus to monitor a particularly busy section of encrypted audio waves. He has learned that the indigenous life forms on this planet use them quite often, especially those of great importance in the human military, and the ones who associate with the Autobots are no different. Soundwave suspects that, if watched closely, one such human may turn up at an opportune time and provide an advantage.

Starscream, however, is persistent today, silently demanding some kind of acknowledgement. Soundwave turns to face the seeker and dips his helm just barely. He is given a sharp nod in return, before the seeker changes direction and heads away from the central bridge area. His servo twitches, guilt creeping up on him again as he attempts to keep his optics from wandering the mech's frame. Soundwave knows better than to dwell on these things. He is a subordinate, he reminds himself.

Starscream abruptly pauses, and increases his volume only in the slightest, helm directed over his shoulder towards Soundwave. "Good work, as always."

It is Soundwave's turn to pause. Starscream has never bothered to commend him before. Soundwave disguises this hesitation as recognizance of the praise, instantly absorbing himself in the displays on the monitor.

And yet the seeker has never once seen those fingers freeze, idle, over the keypad. Starscream's curiosity - irritation, too - is piqued. He lingers a few nanokliks, then marches away on his heeled pedes as a ping alerts him to the change in his shift. Frag his position, he thinks spitefully; he has other work to tend to even if he had real reason to mess with the spy. More specifically, frag Megatron - their leader has put him on archiving duty _again_ and he has no desire to be logging majorly repetitive dialogues of how the Nemesis is running.

Soundwave is simultaneously relieved and disappointed that Starscream walks (stomps) away, but considers it for the best. He will need this solar cycle to regain some semblance of composure around the commander, and that time would best be spent immersed in something _else_.

\- - - - -

To put it lightly, Starscream is freaking out.

Knock Out has no idea what's made the Air Commander so edgy, but a) it's very amusing, despite being annoying and b) it makes for a great conversation topic. Starscream has been in the med bay screeching about something regarding a 'stupid fragging energy readings log', intermittently, for three solar cycles straight. He stays for about a half a groon to a groon each time, too, and yesterday he was in here on four separate occasions.

Knock Out is more convinced he's frustrated by something else, just based on how repetitive the complaining is getting. The seeker shuts up mid-sentence when he starts rambling, as if there's something he's hesitant to disclose. The medic is content to play a guessing game for the time being because there's _something_ Starscream either really wants to or does not at all want to tell him. Breakdown heartily concurs. There aren't many recreational things to do on the ship besides talking, and they can't _always_ sneak out to drive around.

Although Knock Out briefly considers it, just to give Starscream something new to be upset about. He's not sure when he's going to get tired of hearing "I hate the fragging archive programming", but it might be pretty soon.

"I would guess heat cycle, but, you know," Knock Out shrugs, meticulously repairing his favourite laser scalpel. One of the Vehicons rotated a joint during surgery, even in his induced recharge, and bent the tip. The modulator is completely off-kilter now and he refuses to sacrifice this one; it's the only one that he can fit in tight crevices without adjusting his grip. Breakdown is taking inventory on the other side of the room - they'll probably need to go get more energon from the storeroom for reparations.

"Yeah, no, Starscream's holed up in his room when those hit," Breakdown agrees. "Armada training?"

"Mm-mm. He was happy with that and said so," Knock Out replies, frowning at his blowtorch, which doesn't want to get sufficiently hot enough, apparently. "Could just be stir-crazy. I know I am."

Breakdown shakes his helm and marks on his register that one of the plating drills isn't where it should be. He'll have to search for it later and he swears to Primus, if ST-3V3 borrowed it for the stupid shelving unit he wants in his quarters, he's going to punch him. They already had a discussion about how you can't use a plating drill on a wall. Two completely different things. Knock Out would back him up. He turns to the medic, who is cocking an eyebrow at him. 

"What?"

"You have another idea?"

The mech shrugs back at him. "I don't know. I'm a little concerned that it's not a cycle."

"I'm a lot concerned."

"He thinks you care about the archives, though. That's hilarious."

"Funnier that he thinks he's pulling one over on me, talking about it so often. Like I'm going to hear the same phrase twice in two kliks and chalk it up to boredom. How much can you find to complain about in _one_ program? I'm half-expecting him to start picking apart the coding in detail."

Breakdown snorts. "He tries, you got to give him credit. I think everyone's catching on to something weird now."

Knock Out makes a noise that implies a question and 'ha!'s when the blowtorch starts making the end of the scalpel soft enough to mold back into shape.

"No kidding - the fliers are all nuts and bolts because he cancelled training, or something, and he shouldn't be that mad. Come on, you remember I was on archives for a good two orns before Megatron decided someone else could do it. I wasn't that mad about that."

"That was absolute hell, Breakdown," Knock Out interjects. He'd love to tell their leader to try repairing forty Vehicons in four hours without any assistance, but that would probably get him offlined if he delivered it with the amount of sass he wants to. "And you're not Starscream. You're right, though. Not enough for him to throw tantrums like this."

"I know. Even Soundwave's caught it--"

"Soundwave? That is when you _know_ things around here are too boring. Did he tell Megatron?"

"Nah. He brought him a cube or something over at the archive console. Damage control, I think."

Knock Out contemplates this as he works out the kink in the tip of the scalpel. "Strange."

"Couple times he did that, too. You know how he always stands in the corner of the rec room whenever he goes in there?"

"If you can even call it the _rec room_ \- eh, sure."

"He sits by Screamer now. Maybe he feels bad. Starscream doesn't have friends or anything."

"Unless you count u--" Knock Out pauses. Soundwave never sits down - he's never _actually_ seen the mech sit down, minus routine check-ups he doesn't get to complete anyway. And why Starscream? It's not like Starscream is the most agreeable individual around this place to begin with.

Maybe _that's_ why Starscream is freaking out.

Knock Out switches direction without finishing his prior thought. "Do you think Soundwave's making him jumpy?"

Breakdown tilts his helm. "Um--" he starts, about to say no, and then refrains because it fits the timeline. Three days ago, he had to go get the piping from one of the storerooms, and Soundwave was handing Starscream an energon cube at the archiving station. Not two groons later, the seeker was in the med bay with numerous complaints about how the Nemesis needed to stop recording unnecessary information. Knock Out's brows shoot up.

"Actually, that's a good one," Breakdown relents.

Knock Out's expression goes from a satisfied successful one to an entirely different face. Breakdown recognizes it as that 'I-have-something-mischievous-I-want-to-do-that-could-get-us-in-trouble" face and sighs.

"Don't sigh at me. You know you want to mess with him."

"Funny as an annoyed Starscream is, he's going to whine about us to Megatron. You know that."

"Not if we scare him out of it before he thinks to do it," Knock Out says, humming over his perfect job repairing his favourite piece of equipment (favourite next to the rotary buffer).

"What?"

"Say we do mess with him. Starscream will be mad, sure. You could say something like, 'maybe we should just tell Soundwave you have a crush on him' - joking, not threatening, Breakdown!" Knock Out clarifies upon seeing the look on his assistant's face. "Starscream would take it seriously anyway. Nonchalant, so it's not enough to call it a threat and tattle on us, and even if he _did_ call it a threat, he's not going to say anything to Megatron if it's potentially embarrassing. Zero repercussions."

Breakdown wonders where Knock Out gets these ideas, but thinks it's foolproof enough to go along with. Eventually when they both get bored, which is inevitable, they can let the subject fade into nonexistence and Starscream won't be aggravated over it anymore. He nods. "Depends on what you think 'messing with Starscream' consists of."

Knock Out grins, stands, and starts verbally sifting through ideas. Breakdown is on board after a klik of doing little else because they honestly do not have anything more pressing to attend to, and boredom is killing him. They're both looking forward to the festivities later.

\- - - - -

Starscream is frantically pacing his quarters when the end of his shift rolls around. This is the only place he can properly panic, and as much as talking to himself usually just gets him more worked up, he thinks it's fine to indulge now and then.

"Fragging spy!" he mutters, kicking the end of his berth.

Primus, he's registering what Soundwave is doing, and now he's really, really uncomfortable. It started with consistently more attention, and he thought it would end there, he sincerely did. Soundwave is not one for expressing any concern. But in the three days since he's been monitoring the mech's actions towards him, Soundwave has started bringing him energon when he needs to refuel, instead of notifying him. A remedy, not just a suggestion. And he sits near him, in the rec room - though Starscream wasn't put off by this the first few times, Soundwave has been closer in proximity with each passing occurrence and _that_ is enough cause for worry in itself.

Starscream's gone through this tentative approach-and-befriend thing before. The difference is, those experiences pertain to standard seeker courting protocols. The behaviour is reminiscent, but he can't jump ahead and assume it _is_. Still, he's half expecting the mech to start initiating touch, or start presenting him with gifts or something-

The worst is, he doesn't know if he'd actually mind it.

He's said all of this aloud.

Starscream curses at himself and the world before calming down and attempting to think rationally. It shouldn't be as dramatic as he's making it - Soundwave is likely not aware of this, he reasons. The mech is a flier, this is true, but he is not a _seeker_. There is a distinction. Or the spy may be knowledgeable about seeker courting rituals, but doesn't associate his own behaviour with them. In this way Starscream is able to make sense (what he thinks is sense) of the situation and stop being as incredibly wound up.

He changes track - no use dwelling on it any longer than he has, and if he lingers in his quarters for many more kliks, he'll be in trouble for missing the start of a celebration. They've been successful in the past few material raids. Not that human government is much of a match; Starscream is inclined to think their success is only due to a delay on the behalf of the Autobots.

He's still required to go. It's 'damaging to morale' if the higher officers don't want to attend, his aft. Megatron does enough damage to morale by just being _alive_ \- Starscream stomps on his thoughts before he can get frustrated with something else. His internal clocks are approaching another heat cycle (why does it seem as though they're increasing in frequency?), and he'd rather not already have an issue before it hits.

\- - - - -

Knock Out convinces Starscream that one cube of high-grade is not going to kill him. It's not so much concern for the seeker's terrible attitude (he'll always drag that around, quite honestly) as it is a ploy to throw Starscream off-balance. He'll somehow have to manage staying aware of his own plan while inebriated - he does not plan on passing up the opportunity for high-grade himself - but he's moderately confident. Breakdown, at least, will assist, which is nice. For a few kliks back in the med bay, he almost thought the answer would be 'no'.

The answer is almost 'no' with Starscream, but then he somehow gets the seeker to laugh, and shoves a cube in his servo, and Starscream doesn't even realize he's drinking it at first. The seeker is not amused by this, but he continues to consume the energon anyway.

Starscream doesn't know why he's even here (Megatron demanded it, that's why). The high-grade doesn't sit well with him - it never has. His processor either aches after he has it or he needs to refuel the second after he's done recharging, and both are a pain in the aft. There's laughter around him, and it's not anywhere near soothing. It's drunken laughter - while amusing, it tears at his nerves after time. Knock Out has already told him he is exceptionally short for a jet. He restrains himself from killing the medic. Knock Out is the only one they have, and he's overenergized, so Starscream somewhat forgives the comment. An "accidental" scratch will later suffice as punishment. If he feels up to it.

And maybe he won't. The medic has been an exceptional sounding board this week - today, even - and Starscream is not inclined to make Knock Out mad at him for the time being. Talking at someone else is much better than talking at himself and he would prefer being reluctantly welcomed in the med bay than not welcomed at all.

Starscream hates high-grade, he truly does. The taste of this particular high-grade is mediocre compared to what he'd been able to have before Vos was destroyed. He hates it even more now; the sad things are trying to swallow his processor when he doesn't want them to. So he forces more of it down, starting on his second cube, to stop the thoughts before they get worse. And he observes, too - Megatron is not nearly as frightening when he is laughing at Knock Out's awful puns (like the idiot he _is_ ).

The Vehicons are mostly quiet with their high-grade, minus a few select groups that are rambunctious at worst. Starscream contents himself with staring into the swirling, pale blue cube for quite some time. He occasionally tunes in to the conversations around him, and that makes the experience weirder - everything is completely out of context, for example, he isn't sure what to make of a discussion on tailpipe malfunctions. And then there's a movement in the corner, so slight he probably wouldn't have noticed it if Knock Out hadn't pointed at the little glowing violet lines.

Soundwave.

The spy's helm is tilted, only a small inclination, and the cube of energon he's holding with both servos is three-quarters of the way gone. Starscream furrows his brow - Soundwave still has the fragging visor on, how did he manage to--

Then the mech tenses, and Starscream thinks Soundwave has caught him staring, is almost embarrassed before this ridiculous whim kicks in. He wonders _if_ he can make Soundwave squirm. The spy has been driving him up the wall with anxiety for the past five solar cycles, and he'd like to get back, if only a little. So he stands, and saunters his way over to the space that Soundwave occupies. Starscream smirks.

Soundwave's already done half the work for him by cornering himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's goin' on?
> 
> I've got a set plotline for this, actually. New. That is a new thing for me. I mean, the central pair here is going to get hit with bricks and stuff, that's all I'm really spoiling for them, but um, the other peeps are probably going to be the kickstarters of this chaos. *silently clapping for the dynamic duo over here* *even though they get nothing done*
> 
> And eventually the Autobots will show up. Eventually.
> 
> (I feel filthy). Have a great time waiting until I post the next ridiculously long chapter. Also, I love reviews. I respond to all of them for the most part. Sooo, if you'd like to take time to leave one, that would be great. (Seriously I feel filthy, I am so sorry).


	2. You'd Like to Think You're Immune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yes, smut. Smut and plans for future smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh-hooooo, you thought I wasn't going to have the smut up right away. (I feel sick) You're welcome, by the way, since I DID. (Kidding, I made sure to extend this before I posted, that's the only good reason for this...extensive chapter.) This work is not going to be updated OFTEN often, mainly because I have too much scrap crowding out the typy-type-time. It will eventually be finished, I can promise that much, but it might take, like, a couple months. Or something. Or years. (Please don't kill me)
> 
> Whatever.
> 
> Anywho, when I do, I'm trying to make the chapters of uniform length. Not to specific word count, but I'm sticking around 5-6K words per chapter. Enjoy (or don't, entirely up to you). And let me know what you're thinking? I like you, anons. And non-anons. You're nice people. Let's do this. (I'm drowning in sin)

Soundwave does not disobey his leader, but he doesn't necessarily enjoy the celebration either. No one is incredibly rowdy (save maybe a few Vehicons), nothing enough to cause severe discomfort. It's just that everyone gets a little ... overenergized, at these types of gatherings, and they don't exactly act the way they normally do. Soundwave is getting a bit blurry around the edges of his conscious, himself, which is disconcerting, seeing as he's barely touched the high-grade.

Then again, he thinks, when does he ever?

It's surprisingly easy to evade curiosity when everyone else is overenergized - conveniently also the point when Soundwave can sneak to the back corner of the room, with an _occasional_ cube. He is halfway through his first (which will probably also be his last, considering the work he'll have to do tomorrow). Slightly amused by some of the antics of the other crew members, the spy chooses to focus on that instead from his present spot.

Megatron is a strange combination of brooding and happy; Soundwave chalks this up to the success of the mission compared to the overall picture. They've done well, for now. His leader is most likely torn between celebrating and thinking about their next advances, which may not go so smoothly. He is thankful that Megatron is oddly mild. Knock Out is an absolute riot, the spy thinks, because all semblance of social aptitude drains from the mech when he's had _five_ cubes of high-grade. He's laughing, but he's also a ridiculous medley of being almost shy and very, very blunt. Breakdown is not so much affected by the energon; Soundwave supposes his frame is more suited to processing it slower. Still, he is howling with laughter at something the medic says.

Soundwave continues to scan his associates until he catches Starscream, who happens to be staring. At him. He freezes, glad that he had not been planning on finishing his cube anyway - his visor is firmly in place. But Starscream is staring him down nonetheless, somewhere between a smirk and a scowl (not wholly unusual). The seeker has so far had two cubes, and that is all, compared to the others. Soundwave knows Megatron has had six, and some of the Vehicons he's stopped counting. Starscream stands, and leisurely makes his way closer to Soundwave's corner.

The spy tenses.

He is accustomed to Starscream looking predatory, but not when it is directed at him. Soundwave composes himself enough to not appear skittish, though his internal mechanics are whirring louder than they should be. Starscream can't possibly tell that he's been watching (just every now and then for the greater part of a groon) - that's the exact point of having a visor - can he? The spy, aggravated, shuts down his additional fan protocols. They're already starting up when the seeker gets within a few yards.

" _Soundwave_ ," Starscream begins, half-sneering, "all alone? Don't you want to join the party?"

The seeker watches Soundwave's visor tilt down towards his cube, and then away. It's a reaction, and he revels in it already - if Soundwave hadn't had any of the high-grade, Starscream knows he'd never get the tiniest movement. He huffs.

"Well, me neither," he replies to the silence, and leans against the wall, looking out at the others. Soundwave has chosen a good vantage point at the very least. The spy's helm turns back in his direction and he can see the tension in Soundwave's servo from the corner of his optics. Oh, this is fun.

"Nervous? I don't see why."

Soundwave does not answer (as expected), does not truly move even a nanometer, but Starscream picks up the minute slosh of energon in the cube. Starscream lets his curiosity shove outwards in his EM field, paired with a bit of his absolute despise for the spy. Soundwave takes a step back, then. The seeker realizes that the spy's spinal plating is now touching the wall. He grins. Soundwave can't retreat any further than he already has. It's his turn to play around. Soundwave isn't the only one who can act completely out of order.

"Are we really that pretentious, Soundwave? You won't associate with your comrade?" 

Soundwave visibly recoils. He realizes that Starscream is smirking again, and attempts to decipher why. Was that a joke? Is Starscream _joking_ with him? Primus, he doesn't know what to do, and the seeker's lithe frame leaning against the wall like that is not helping the static that's collecting on his. Soundwave is far from nervous and further from pretentious. He is frustrated and would very much like some more space between them so he can figure out _what the frag_ is going on in his processor.

"Is it me, Soundwave? I think I may be unsettling you. Do tell. I'd very much like a conversation," Starscream drawls, sidling closer. Soundwave shifts in discomfort, and the seeker's wings flare. He's succeeding? He's actually ruffling this stoic communications officer? What a feeling.

Soundwave's vents hitch. Starscream is _too close, too close_ and any second now he's going to notice the heat that's built up. Honestly, it's both the embarrassment and the proximity of the Air Commander to his person. And the high-grade has something to do with it. Maybe that's why Starscream is so pushy, but he can't be sure. He tries to get out of the situation by holding up his cube as though he means to go put it down somewhere and then return (oh, but he's not going to return, he's considering bolting out of the room and slamming his helm into the walls of his quarters) - Starscream snatches the cube from him instead.

"You don't need to bother. The floor's strewn already. The Vehicons will take care of it tomorrow."

And then the cube is halfway across the room, energon seeping across the metal floor paneling. Why did he ever think it was a good idea to employ courting protocol? He is not comfortable with this at all. Soundwave draws back as far as he can physically, wishing Starscream would lose the initiative to keep bothering him (because he's already _bothered_ but in a different way and it's not appropriate and he can't control this and _there are other people in the room with them_ )--

Starscream's servo splays over his abdomen, brushing provocatively. The seeker is having an absolute blast annoying the mech until he does this - and Soundwave is hot to the touch, mechanics reverberating under his plating. Starscream is confused, stares into the blank visor for a moment, questioning. Soundwave makes a move to push his servo away, but the seeker just grabs onto Soundwave's arm, too. They are each frozen; Starscream's processor works to make connections.

An idea hits him, and burns a hole in his thoughts. Soundwave can't be _attracted_ to him... (it shouldn't factor in, he ruled it out. He ruled it out earlier today) but does make the mech's behaviour more...understandable. He tests this line, however slim the chance, and traces one of the biolights on the mech's midriff, optics half-lidded. The seeker hasn't flirted in probably more than a few vorns, but he likes to think he's still good at it. He should be appalled at himself, really, but somewhere in the last klik his motive has gone from making Soundwave squirm to getting the mech in his berth. In his subconscious, he blames the high-grade, but it could honestly just be desperation.

Not that he has much experience with honesty. So. High-grade it is.

Primus, he wishes he hadn't started this. Now he won't be able to stop.

Soundwave's servo flexes in Starscream's grip. The spy makes no attempt to pull away from him, and it makes the seeker more confident in what he's going to do next. He grabs at Soundwave's thin fingers and tugs towards the exit, surreptitiously. The spy tilts his helm. Confused.

"Come on. Let's go somewhere."

The way Starscream says it is so...oh. Oh, frag, this is a bad decision. He follows regardless, optics focused on the servo entwined in his. They arrive at Starscream's quarters in three kliks, and Soundwave stares at the door with equal measures of anticipation and anxiety. The seeker enters his access code, not bothering to shield it (only hoping Soundwave isn't paying attention) and lightly pushes Soundwave inside. The spy glances around the room, optics falling first on the scattered objects Starscream has been tinkering with, then on the adjacent washroom, and finally on the berth. It's a large one - not that he expected any different.

He jolts at the contact as Starscream sets those clawed servos on his hips and leans in. It doesn't feel intrusive. It _should_.

"Touch if you want to. We're in the right place for that."

And then Soundwave does, partly because he does want to and partly because he doesn't know what _else_ he might do. He starts where Starscream does, exploring some exposed chassis wiring and shoulder plating. Somewhere in this he touches the seeker's wings, and plays with them, and then Starscream grinds against him, and Primus it's the best thing he's ever felt. He reciprocates.

Starscream is too far gone to quit this before it leads into dangerous territory. His limbs press in tight against Soundwave's, and the spy's digits rake over his lower back, then his aft, panels grinding together. Tension is high-strung, palpable in the air between them, but Starscream doesn't care. He doesn't even care that he's pretty sure he _hates_ this mech. Soundwave feels too good to back off. And Soundwave is accepting these advances, welcoming them, if his fingers groping Starscream's frame are any indication. It's hard to stay irritated with the spy when all the right places are getting attention for the first time in forever.

The seeker breaks away to drag Soundwave to his berth, impatient. 

Excited.

His wings are even tingling with the feeling. He hasn't had a berth partner in vorns - for many, many reasons. He doesn't play well with others, for one thing. It takes more to rev him than most people seem to think, spending too much time on the wings when they don't know how to do it. He doesn't find any potential berth partners attractive. And he doesn't like the closeness in general. It's just easier to give himself what he wants, when he wants it.

But he's nearly vibrating with anticipation now. Whatever Soundwave is doing, it's working, (or maybe it's the high-grade, again, he can never be sure) and Starscream wants more. The seeker supposes Soundwave is pretty enough to deserve this. He shoves the spy onto the berth, straddling him, pressing every inch of their frames together in all the places he can. Soundwave is just as eager, a servo playing around the seams of Starscream's interface panel, another alternating between the seeker's sleek thigh and the wiring that makes up his midriff.

Soundwave loves how those claws drag over his arms and his chassis. He's waited for so long, to have an opportunity to get closer (has he, though?), and even better is that Starscream has initiated this. _Now_ he's nervous, but it's a good nervous. (A bad nervous too. He suppresses that.) He can feel the excitement at getting some consideration, the adrenaline, thrumming straight through Starscream's frame, in his EM field, on the outer edge of his thoughts. And he wants to give everything to the seeker. Everything, anything the seeker wants.

Is he really that far gone? Frag. Frag high-grade, frag his emotions, just ... frag.

Starscream loses track of when he retracts his panel, but he notices the second those fingers work up into his valve, shuddering at the sensation. It's so much better than taking care of himself - his spike is usually the quickest source of release, but _oh_ is his valve worth the time now. Soundwave's digits are talented. Starscream's servos hold the mech's shoulders, and he pushes back into Soundwave's hand, staring at the blank, unexpressive visor with half-shuttered optics.

His claws intentionally rake over the sensitive areas where Laserbeak normally rests, and the housing of Soundwave's feelers. Soundwave rewards this, using his currently occupied fingers to press and brush deeper nodes that pulse in pleasure. Starscream is still impatient, and pries roughly at Soundwave's panel. It's not fair that Soundwave's remains closed. Not when he _wants_.

It slides back, as does the spike cover, and Soundwave is at attention. Starscream's pride swells at how unrestrained Soundwave is right now, at this indication he's just as turned on. He wants this, and he wants it the way Starscream wants it. Starscream takes a deep breath, appreciating the equipment for just a moment. It's very ... Soundwave. He _hmm_ s in approval. Soundwave's digits leave his valve, coated in fresh lubricant. He's burning up, and he wants release. The seeker scurries forward, shoving Soundwave's curious, exploring servos aside, and leans back. The slender spike presses against him, stirring even more desire. It fluctuates in his EM field, practically broadcasting his craving, the insatiable want. It's gotten out of control.

He'll spend time regretting it later.

Starscream hesitates, for what is less than a nanoklik. Lust overcomes the reluctance and his hips rock down over Soundwave's spike. The seeker's mouth falls open, a breathless gasp escaping at the sudden intrusion.

Too far, too fast. He doesn't know what he expected. It _has_ been a while. He doesn't know why he thought a spike would feel similar to his servo and curses his ignorance. His valve is absolutely slick with lubricant. Soundwave already feels too deep. Starscream refuses to pause any longer, acknowledging the discomfort ahead and resolving to deal with it. After all, Soundwave is what he'd wanted, and it would be a shame to stop so soon. (They've already gone too far.)

The silver mech sinks down, claws dragging over Soundwave's chest plating. Shaky exvents fly from his mouth. He can't stop them, not when that burning, stretching sensation courses through his internals. There is a healthy amount of...ow.

Starscream supposes he could've taken things slower, angry regarding his attempt at impaling himself. The seeker's optics offline as the Soundwave hilts, a sound of protest escaping though he suppresses most of it. Soundwave's fingers trail his thighs, visor tilting. Starscream rests his arms on the telepath's chest, knees clamping to the mech's sides as his valve adjusts. His hips squirm, trying to get away from the spike (he's not going to let himself do that), each movement bringing on a new wave of dull, blunt pain. Starscream knows he definitely hasn't interfaced with anyone even close to Soundwave's length. He still wants the mech, but he wasn't - isn't - prepared for this.

Soundwave's concern heightens. The seeker's arms fold against Soundwave's chest, helm ducking. Starscream stills atop him with a muted, pained noise. That is not a good kind of vocal. A pang of guilt courses through him - Starscream was determined, but still. He could have chosen not to cater to ... whatever it is he's feeling, in favour of letting them both be stupid like this. He scans the mech from behind his visor, disturbed by the tremors in Starscream's frame as he struggles to control himself. The seeker doesn't raise his helm as Soundwave tries to comfort him, servo brushing over sensitive wing seams.

Soundwave knows it's never going to feel better if he doesn't do _something_. His other servo drifts to caress Starscream's hip plating. Starscream freezes, even more rigid than he was before.

Soundwave adjusts his hips underneath Starscream, distracting him from the motion by petting the smaller set of the seeker's wings. He shifts as gently as he can. Starscream's valve is tight around him. He focuses on the other mech's discomfort - that's not what he wanted, not what he wants.

Starscream gasps - amid the soreness, a stab of white-hot need hits him. He claws lightly at the sides of Soundwave's torso, the new, slight angle unexpected. Starscream pants as he looks down to where they join. Majorly sensitive nodes cry out for more.

 _That deep?_ Starscream thinks fleetingly, having barely ever touched them _himself_ , before the mech beneath him moves. Soundwave pulls Starscream closer to his chassis. One servo presses against Starscream's lower back, and Soundwave rocks gently into him. The seeker grits his denta. He grips Soundwave's arm, hard enough to dent. The thrusts are measured, pelvic plating grinding softly together. He would give a derisive snort at Soundwave's 'patience' were it not for the fact that he is vulnerable here - above the spy, but not in control. And it feels divine.

Soundwave is touching every sensor, tracing every seam, drawing attention away from Starscream's valve to areas of his frame that aren't stinging. The seeker's lust hasn't been chased away, and Soundwave is renewing it. His hips roll down in the same tentative manner as Soundwave's roll up - they're both unaccustomed to this. The hurt begins to fade with the continual intrusion, forcing the heat in his core to rise. His valve is hardly complaining at the stimulation, after the initial reception. Pleasure hovers just out of reach. Starscream's frame is adamant in grasping it, and his processor agrees - deciding to put consequences out of mind.

Just this once.

Soundwave is entirely focused on Starscream's reactions, drinking in the sight of the seeker riding him. Starscream is gorgeous, wings spread wide and fluttering in the slightest. Soundwave plays with the wiring in the seams that connect them to Starscream's back, earning a low moan from the seeker. He has not interfaced - well, not _really_ \- before, but he is a quick learner, and seeing as Starscream is so expressive, he knows when he's done something right. He repeats the same motion, with an amplified result, and smiles behind his visor.

_There we go._

Starscream's claws scratch at the mech's shoulders. The seeker braces himself against Soundwave, rolling his hips down somewhat harder. The awkwardness bleeds into waves of bliss, and Starscream can't help himself. His valve flexes in enjoyment - he feels all of Soundwave, the sensations almost too much compared to the previous burning and stretching. Ridges slide over blazing nodes and light up his sensornet. He recants his earlier thoughts about Soundwave's patience, feeling that intense heat repeatedly rocking into him. How Soundwave is keeping this slow is a mystery - he already wants things faster. The seeker's field flares, pulses, simmers with desire, as it had been when they started. Because it feels _good_ now, feels like he'll get to where he wants to be if Soundwave only keeps this up.

Starscream's ventilations hitch as Soundwave's field mingles with his, previously held close to its owner. And oh, Primus, it's heady, drowning _lust_.

Energy pours into his frame, Soundwave's hips grinding against his, and the seeker wails in a miniature overload - it's not enough to be a full one. His slender legs clamp to Soundwave's sides again, this time clinging to the mech for more. It surges through Starscream's field. He presses against the communications officer, against Soundwave's chassis and writhes.

Starscream gasps as an abrupt change in position leaves him sprawled underneath Soundwave, empty and open and wanting. "S--ah!--"

Soundwave exvents, hard, shaky. The seeker is pure temptation, lithe and spread out for the taking, wings quivering against the plush metal of the berth. His servos caress thin, silver thighs. He's still leery of how much emotion bubbles under the surface, but Starscream has not rejected him yet, does not sense the uncertainty in everything he's doing. Starscream's field is fluctuating in pleasure, and it soothes, allows him to enjoy this as much as the seeker is.

Starscream whimpers as Soundwave slides back into him, grasps at the mech. Again, it stings, but Soundwave's frame looms over his, blocking out everything except a lull of comfort, the burn that pulses back at him through the spy's EM field. Starscream's claws skitter over Soundwave's spinal struts, gentle rhythm returning. It's so good, so good.

Starscream's respirations deepen. Soundwave's digits lavish soft touches on his frame. His valve clenches around the mech's length. The seeker hooks his ankles over Soundwave's hips, driving him deeper, and fervently nips at the spy's exposed neck cabling. The electronic pant sends shivers through his core, but his vents pause altogether as Soundwave's visor levels with his audial receptor.

"Starscream: close optics," Soundwave commands. Starscream doesn't question. Here, in the berth, it doesn't matter if he submits. Just this once, just this once. Soundwave can play dominant whenever he wants if he keeps this up. And he's talking. He's actually talking. (This is now terrifyingly out of control, but Starscream wants an overload, Primus, he wants an overload _so badly_.) Starscream hears a snick, tauntingly close to his faceplates, and exvents. A puff of hot air grazes his audial receptor.

"Keep optics: closed," the spy states further, and Starscream pulls Soundwave closer to discover searing dermas that suck at his neck cabling. His servo grabs at the mech's helm and holds him there as he vocalizes how this makes him feel.

 _Soundwave has retracted his visor. For_ him. Primus, the power he has right now is a drug. He's addicted. He's addicted and _frag_ yes, right there.

Soundwave licks and nips obscenely at the cords of Starscream's neck, the seeker squirming beneath him, optics squeezed shut in compliance. The spy pulls the seeker's hips into his, syncopated, watching as he sends Starscream keening. He fights the urge to record this image for his personal memory, in the case this doesn't happen again (though he sincerely hopes it might). The sight in itself is erotic, but paired with the sweltering mesh of Starscream around him, it's ecstasy. His usual silence is pointless to try and uphold. A moan swells in his vocalizer and he lets it go, the sound earning an immediate reaction. Starscream throws his helm back, subtly arching off of the berth into him, panting.

"Please, please," the seeker begs, legs pressuring him to give more, dermas searching out his neck. Soundwave instead nips at Starscream's mouth, and then languidly explores it with his own. Starscream is feverish, spark stuttering as the charge in his systems rises to a peak. Closing his optics has unforeseen benefits - all his other senses are on overdrive. The pace is more insistent, and each devoted thrust has him trembling, clinging to the mech above him. He encourages the spy, purring into his audial until he can no longer string together coherent words.

"Primus," Starscream hiccups, Soundwave's length lighting up the deepest nodes again. And again. And again. It's more intense this way, so much more intense, and he can just barely taste his overload.

Soundwave hums, pleased. "Incorrect: designation."

He holds back, until Starscream is bucking underneath him, the seeker howling in want of stimulation. He holds the silver flier's hips down, still humming. "Designation," he whispers, thrusting once, a quick snap of his hips that doesn't follow all the way through. Starscream shrieks, arching hard off of the berth.

"Designation," he repeats, insistently, the pattern reoccurring, and Starscream is tugging at him, attempting to pull him back down. Desperate and frustrated. Soundwave bites back another moan. The valve is such a tight fit, so hot, and Starscream's expression is so wanton. The spy wishes, just for a moment, that he wasn't so unsure of Starscream seeing him. He would love to have both - those optics staring him down in arousal and the ability to dent Starscream's neck cabling. But he'll wait until, maybe, their relationship is closer (ha, what relationship), to reveal that part of himself. Just as he'll wait until he hears his name come off those dermas before he gives an overload to Starscream.

" _Soundwave,_ " Starscream cooes, pelvic plating rolling into his for more, helm thrown back in euphoria. Those claws dig into Soundwave's back, drawing out little pinpricks of energon, and Starscream is practically growling. He finally relents, picking up where he's stopped. Starscream does not disappoint. Between the shuddering intakes, the _oh_ 's and _yes_ 's, the seeker is repeating his name, over and over and over.

He captures the seeker's mouth. Starscream's wings twitch, and he breaks away with a gasp. The build is slow but sure, and it's coming to a climax. He grapples for purchase on Soundwave's frame, sparkpulse too fast, vents too overworked to keep up with the heat. The energy pouring in through his nodes singes his circuitry. Soundwave's mouth is at his audial again, and Starscream can only pant, tightening his grip on the mech, waiting for release.

"Starscream: mine," Soundwave whispers, hisses, suddenly possessive of Starscream, and he doesn't understand why he says it but it seems to be the right thing to say. White explodes in the seeker's blacked-out vision, a breathless scream of Soundwave's designation echoing into the room. Charged lubricant floods his valve, helm flung back, entire frame thrashing against the spy.

Soundwave takes in every inch of the overloading seeker, in stunned awe. Starscream keeps his optics closed, writhing and breathing his name. The already tight, dripping valve is a vice around his spike. Pleasure shoots straight to his core at Starscream's attempts to ground himself, the claws on his back trying to find an anchor. As near his own overload as he is, he holds back, just enough to feel the seeker coming down from the high.

A few more thrusts are enough, a shudder running heavily up his spinal plating, hips jerking against Starscream's. His spark palpitates before overload strikes, dizzying and blissful, with the seeker convulsing beneath him _again_ at the new onslaught of energy.

The hot wash of transfluid against Starscream's overstimulated nodes is what induces another overload, and Starscream clings to Soundwave, unrelenting. His cooling fans begin to catch up, only nanokliks after the second climax comes, but aftershocks still stutter through his shivering frame. He's well and truly fragged and it's _amazing._

Soundwave is still frozen in sheer appreciation of the sensations and the sight, circuits dancing with sparks. He is hyper-aware of everything that is _Starscream_ , after the coil of heat has been whipped free. It is at least two kliks, maybe more, when Soundwave sighs - sated, the sound echoed by Starscream. He manages to pull himself together, withdrawing from the seeker and occupying the berth beside him. It earns him a gasp, then a huff, and then a servo trailing over his abdomen and dragging him closer.

Soundwave's spark twists at seeing Starscream's optics still held shut. The seeker buries his faceplates in Soundwave's collar plating and neck cabling, his fans audibly whirring. His wings twitch, no longer hiked up around him as they usually are. Soundwave wonders why the sudden change, but attributes it to the overloads. Starscream evidently doesn't want him to leave. He cannot help the small edge of pride and the wave of fulfillment that surfaces at seeing the seeker's satisfaction. The feeling is intoxicating.

He's almost happy, spindly fingers drifting over the junction connecting Starscream's wings to his back. Starscream _mmm_ phs in response, tangling their legs. The only thing to bring Soundwave down from his airy mood is his assessment of their situation. It is likely that Starscream will not appreciate further advances on his part (he doesn't know if he wants to, just based on how complicated things already are in his own helm). The seeker is suspicious of him, and not without good reason. An abrupt laugh vibrates against his neck and he tilts his helm just slightly. Starscream, optics still - _still_ \- closed, lets out a sarcastic huff.

"In a rare moment of truthfulness. I'm not sure how things are supposed to go back to normal. After...that."

The seeker's wings flicker under his ministrations, and Soundwave suppresses more pride, keeping his face straight. Starscream says ' _that_ ' in a tone which is more than just positive. It's flat-out provocative, and Soundwave loves it. He supposes it doesn't hurt to answer. The seeker has heard his voice already, perhaps even at its least composed. 

"Soundwave: is also uncertain."

Starscream's reply is delayed, and one of his clawed servos lingers on Soundwave's abdomen. "I'd rather this was kept quiet if it's all the same to you."

Soundwave nods, keenly aware of clever dermas that press tiny almost-kisses to his neck. His hold on Starscream tightens before he can check himself, but the seeker doesn't appear to mind. In fact, Starscream worms his way even closer. The spy fights the urge to roll his eyes at the smirk he can _feel_ Starscream expressing. "Affirmative."

Another of those reasons why he really shouldn't covet Starscream's attention - the smirking. In theory, it irritates him more than it does in actuality.

"I don't suppose you're willing to consider an...arrangement," Starscream says in a tone that could be perceived as lamenting, were it not for the sarcasm that is most definitely present. Soundwave likes to think it is semi-regretful despite that note. He carefully analyzes his next actions. Rejecting the statement entirely is not an option. He won't waste a given opportunity to make something more come of this. If he agrees too eagerly, the seeker's distrust will prevail. Though he suspects an 'arrangement' is only going to lead to his own misery ( _why is he doing this why why why_ ), Soundwave takes the chance to act on his desire. He hums noncommittally and traces patterns over the seeker's wings.

"Experience: ...very pleasant. Inquiry: clarify 'arrangement'?"

Starscream pauses again.

He doesn't trust Soundwave further than he can throw him, and he can't read anything with his optics, whether they're shuttered or not. But they both, apparently, enjoy the way they fit together in a berthroom, and he'd rather have some form of company than nothing. He doesn't have to trust the spy in order to get a good - great - frag.

The seeker treads carefully. He doesn't know what Soundwave is after - if it's only the interface, Starscream can concede to that. Primus, Soundwave's proven himself in this berth. And if the mech is after something else, like blackmail material (the seeker suspects that some of the rumors might be true) Starscream can make sure he won't be able to get his servos on it. Because of this, he chooses to play to the ego he knows (or is relatively sure) Megatron's third-in-command has. It's not like he has anything better to do.

"Just a suggestion, but an exclusive affair wouldn't be out of _my_ range of ideas."

"...Clarify: 'exclusive'."

"You could have the satisfaction of knowing that _exclusively_ you get to share this berth," Starscream dances through the words, bluntly offering. He can hide any unsurety he feels exceedingly well - of course he has his doubts, but Soundwave doesn't need to know about them to agree to this. In total honesty, Starscream _does_ want to do this again. It doesn't feel so much like a miserable stress reliever, this way, as opposed to frustratedly working himself to overload.

Especially during heat cycles.

Soundwave has been quiet for about a klik, which is not too worrying. He's used to the silence, after all - it's not like they've had many conversations, so to speak, over the years. Starscream nips at the mech's neck cables again, making sure his optics are still shut. If he can get Soundwave to trust him in some little way, maybe he can sway the spy's decision.

"Suggestion: Soundwave also exclusive to Starscream. Inquiry: Soundwave may suggest guidelines?"

Starscream's spark gives one hard, elated pulse at the suggestion. To have Soundwave all to himself is tempting; especially after _that_ interface, he likes the idea of not sharing. He drags the thin tips of his digits down Soundwave's side and feels the static reaction. The seeker nods vaguely.

Soundwave contemplates his terms before speaking for what seems like quite a while, but Starscream is patient - and _distracting_. He suspects this is on purpose, but doesn't point it out. This kind of attention from Starscream is something he rather likes. When Starscream consents to hear his suggestions, Soundwave cannot help but feel excited - and then horrified at himself - and then excited again. He keeps his EM field in check, reigning in the turbulence. His excitement is not something that Starscream should pick up on if Soundwave would like this arrangement to come to fruition (the question is, would he _really_ like that?). He's patient, too. He will give himself time to work this out in his processor...in the duration of this agreement.

"Soundwave: will not deny interface when circumstance allows. Soundwave: will not violate privacy. Soundwave: will not violate any restrictions Starscream deems necessary."

Starscream bites Soundwave's neck, not hard enough to leave an impression on any of the cabling, but enough for it to sting. "I think if we both follow those guidelines, we have a set deal," he murmurs. Soundwave's servos still possessively cling to his wings, and he presses the appendages back into the spy's hands. The more possessive Soundwave gets, the more likely it is he won't want to share, either (at least Starscream thinks so. He doesn't want to overestimate the mech here). Starscream will get his way in this, and _oh_ does he want his way.

"Restrictions: will not attempt to remove visor. Soundwave: will notify when optics: must be closed."

"Don't try and see your face. Alright, fair enough...don't record anything. I'm not exactly fond of the idea that someone else could access it, ever. What happens between us stays between us," Starscream replies, tensing, waiting for Soundwave to consider.

Soundwave pauses just long enough to make it seem like he's contemplating. He already wants to keep Starscream entirely to himself, and hasn't planned on divulging anything about the mech, but Starscream doesn't know this, and so he has to play the game. His servos move over the seeker's midriff repetitiously. Starscream shifts in his hold, startled, and Soundwave huffs at him, "Terms: accepted. Starscream: confirm: terms."

"You have my word," the seeker laughs, and Soundwave realizes he has not replaced his visor only a nanoklik before Starscream playfully asks, "can I open my optics now?"

The visor _shiiiik_ s back into place. Starscream's faceplates come into view, red optics still dim with lazy satisfaction. Soundwave's pride thrums again. Starscream looks at the screen of his visor as though his face is visible, an exhausted, content grin breaking over his face. Claws trail teasingly up to his chassis.

Soundwave tilts his helm in questioning. The seeker's energy steadily decreases. Starscream's helm comes to rest between his shoulder and chassis, the mech snickering and then yawning.

"I wish I knew you were this good a vorn ago. Heat cycle might be fun this time around," Starscream mutters, "You can frag me on your console."

And when the seeker has drifted into recharge, Soundwave laughs at how blunt the mech is, thoroughly enjoying the idea he's been given to think of. It does lead into something that's somewhat more melancholy. He knows Starscream does not view this interaction the same way he does (and how _does_ Soundwave view it? He doesn't even know), so the laughter trails off to a derisive snort. Soundwave returns to petting the wings of the recharging seeker, putting the thought out of his processor. He'd rather focus on how happy he is right now than on what might come of this. And the warm, smooth metal curled so close to his frame, spark pulsing beside his, makes him comfortable enough to stay and recharge with Starscream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundwave. My poor indecisive baby. You do not know what to do with your crush. You do not even comprehend what a crush is. How are you going to do. (Do you have any idea how long it took to write this. And for the record, this is my first attempt at this...stuff, so it had better be damn good smut and you better tell me if it was or wasn't.) (I might die) (My face is burning)


	3. Can't Get Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two. They can't just accept cuddling. Eh, it's the first time this has happened. More to come. Anywho, I've had, like, all this slagging work to get done, all in a short amount of time (but let me tell you, if you do not have Quoll Writer, get it, it has a special distraction-free mode when you need to focus on your chapter in the tiny span of time you have to be able to work). Because I've been bad at updating and likely will continue being terrible at it - this thing called responsibility (eugh, gross), I'm almost done with the chapter after this. I work in bulk, mostly. Enjoy. Or don't. I don't mind.

Starscream wakes curled around the spy he's apparently chosen to take to his berth. (And continue to, or vice versa, but he doubts this because he doesn't think _anyone's_ seen Soundwave's quarters). Little by little, as he reboots, the memory resurfaces, and he is glad for the fact that he wasn't too overcharged to forget the experience. He does not like the idea of losing his awareness to that degree. Thankfully last night is clear, even the details (Primus, the details).

The seeker yawns, examining Soundwave. The mech is still in recharge. Briefly, Starscream thinks about how easy it would be to tamper with him now, in all sorts of ways, before he decides completely against it. Starscream has no doubt that Soundwave will remain much the same, but he's proven to be slightly more than expected. The seeker additionally does not have the desire to push boundaries, especially now that he has a tentative sort of...alliance?

The things his processor agrees to. Starscream questions himself, then thinks yes, this is definitely worth being a little uneasy.

Soundwave doesn't exactly stir, but he does tense, and the minute sounds of his invents begin changing from the relaxed pace they have been at. Very minute sounds - Starscream can hardly pick them up, as close as he is. The seeker flexes his wings, disturbed at how much their inversion has affected his waking. There isn't that residual twinge of post-recharge soreness that he has come to expect. While pleasant, the sensation of being well-rested is strange. As he flicks the appendages outwards, scowling unintentionally, Soundwave's servo moves on his abdomen.

The spy stretches out, then comfortably settles back in, ignoring the ping in his comm. The seeker's face greets him, irritated for some reason. Soundwave is satisfied when Starscream reverts to a calmer expression and the mech deems it alright to relax. He scans the seeker.

"Morning," Starscream drawls, a clawed servo tapping against the spy's chassis. The seeker's EM field is calm. He can scold himself later for the things he's doing (procrastinate; he _should_ be berating right about _now_ ) if Starscream is capable of being calm. Soundwave indulges in the tiniest of smiles. He will allow himself to be happy for a moment.

"Good morning: Starscream."

Starscream is surprised Soundwave continues to use his own voice, but the surprise turns into a purr of satisfaction at it. He takes in exactly how warm his berth has gotten. It's exquisite, it truly is. He hates having anything to do with cold. Soundwave's servo brushes his side continuously (he really likes to do that, Starscream supposes), and the spy has no intention of untangling their legs. It makes for a good kind of quiet, before responsibilities set in.

And set in they do. Starscream's general comm resonates with a ping. He twists in Soundwave's hold, pulling away though he is lax in doing so. The spy makes an offended? noise and proceeds to stretch out further in Starscream's berth. Starscream would be very curious about the noise, about Soundwave's display of _playfulness_ right now - Primus, he could definitely go another round - if it weren't for that insistent ping.

_Scrap._

The seeker is late for a shift, and even if it's not entirely strange for him to be late, they're "under-staffed" this solar cycle. Given that everyone was overenergized yesterday (himself included, though he'd say less than the others). He thinks Soundwave is late, too (Soundwave is normally at a console before he's even awake) and wonders at the spy's lack of motion.

"Aren't you getting up," he deadpans, but refrains from narrowing his optics as he might do with anyone else. Soundwave did far too well a job last night to get any of _that_ this morning, the seeker decides. His wings return to their normal stance; he's becoming more aware as his systems calibrate. They have an arrangement. He'll use that arrangement, to be sure, but they are not close associates, nor is he inclined to let his guard down. And yet he isn't inclined to be hostile, either.

It's a strangely comfortable in-between.

Soundwave nods in response, one final stretch preceding his getting out of the berth. Starscream looks on, not so much impatiently waiting for Soundwave to go as simply watching him. His tanks lurch suddenly, and he rolls his optics. The high-grade consumption annoys him, calling for refuel so soon after recharge. He thinks he won't partake of it again for a very long time. Soundwave gestures towards the door of the quarters, and Starscream frowns, scratching a sliver of paint off his wall with one of his sharp digits. He tries to think of how they can both exit without significant notice given to either party. The last thing he wants is for this ... situation, to get around.

Soundwave has a solution before he's even considered it, opening a groundbridge mid-room. He inclines his head in the slightest towards the seeker.

"Go on. I'll be on shift soon."

Soundwave enters the groundbridge and it closes with the familiar _swoosh_ of green light. Starscream returns to sit on his berth, and goes over events in his head same as he goes over his frame with a cleanser - he has several priorities in doing this. The first is to clean himself up because if there is evidence of this on his frame, he'll never get Knock Out to shut up.

The second is to come up with some sort of excuse for his lateness; doubtless Soundwave won't need one, but he's counting on Megatron demanding one from him. As much as it pains him, the only thing he can surmise would pass with their leader is 'being overenergized and suffering the repercussions'. Starscream scowls at the sacrifice of pride, even if the admission isn't truthful. Not entirely. He doesn't know what he would call what's happened, but he wouldn't use the word 'suffering' to describe the experience.

And then he's thinking of the deal he's made with Soundwave. In a startingly perfect time frame, actually - he has maybe three, four solar cycles until the heat programming hits? It puts him in a slightly better mood to acknowledge he isn't forced to be miserable when it does roll around (who is he kidding, it's the most miserable part of being a seeker). Starscream's wings twitch as he makes his way toward the command center, fully prepared to complain about archiving ... but perhaps not as _much_.

\- - - - -

Knock Out is, needless to say, annoyed at Starscream's disappearance the other night. The memory is fuzzy (high-grade always distorts the processor's recording functions; it's the one downfall he has personally found with the substance). He only recalls Starscream was suddenly absent, and can't dredge up much else, nor can Breakdown. The medic does count on Starscream turning up in the med bay again, however. He subsequently directs his efforts to observation in an attempt to glean more info.

Turn up the seeker does, both less frustrated and more at ease. Knock Out narrows his optics. He did miss something interesting, didn't he.

Starscream rants about how the archive programming is making his job more difficult, this time choosing to focus on lengthy command sequences. The ranting is as half-hearted as Knock Out's listening. Breakdown finds himself continually moving out of the way as Starscream traverses the entire room. Whereas he's used to the commander wearing a hole in only one section of floor, the seeker has deemed it necessary to expand the area of pacing. It's notable that the pacing is no longer done violently.

Starscream is not looking where he's going as he heads for the exit, and walks directly into the medic. Knock Out just so happens to be looking down in search of a scuff on the leg he's knocked against the lab table. He misses the optic roll that's courteously extended to him, but catches the scratch on the side of Starscream's hip instead.

He (wisely) keeps his mouth shut until the Air Commander clears out. 

"Did you _see_ that?" he furiously whispers (though it's not much of a whisper given that Breakdown hears him all the way from the console).

"The--" Breakdown motions towards his own hip, drawing a pretend line. The medic nods. "Think he got in a fight?"

Knock Out sends him a look of disbelief. "A fight. Breakdown, please."

"Then come up with something better. And if you already have something better, I can't read your processor _all_ the time," Breakdown retorts, beginning to log patient records from datapads to the main database. He probably should have done that yesterday (they were already a bit late, even then), but the high-grade was much more appealing. Knock Out is silent, so he turns to see a suggestive grin on the mech's face. "What?"

The Aston Martin raises his brows. "Starscream got frisky."

"I don't think--"

"Of all places, his hip. Ch, cosmetic damage like that? Interface-related."

"But Starscream's not ... I mean, he's a solo guy. He's always like that. You know that, I know that--"

"Ah-ah. Lately?"

Breakdown freezes and turns back to the medic. "That was a joke? No?...No. Knocks."

" _Yes_ ; do you remember seeing either of them after I mentioned he was gone?"

"...no?"

"Exactly."

"But neither of us are reliable on that," Breakdown points out, earning him a not-so-subtle optic roll (Knock Out is the master of those. Sometimes the wrecker wonders why no one says anything. He isn't sure if Megatron just ignores it or if he legitimately doesn't notice).

"The security cameras aaaare," Knock Out replies, waving a datapad at him. He stares in even more disbelief.

"First off, Soundwave monitors those, and second off, no way."

The medic acquiesces to take somewhat of a precaution; security footage is something people usually use with bad intentions. Which is why it's not common for others to access it (despite its availability). They review the footage under the general channel that's intended for Vehicon use, mainly because of Breakdown's insistence. Knock Out doesn't think Soundwave is presently interested (heh, oh-ho no, he's got better things to occupy his time, ha) in monitoring the activities of those on board, but he concedes for the sake of getting his point across.

"Behold," he states triumphantly when he's proved correct, and Breakdown gawks at the screen, which is depicting Starscream dragging the third-in-command from the room while everyone else is drinking. They do not re-enter. "And Starscream was late for his shift today, plus that mark."

"Holy Primus. Soundwave doesn't do that kind of slag. At least, he didn't."

"I don't know. _You_ consider how strange he's been. Something's going on."

Breakdown agrees. Although he swore Soundwave never left that corner, it would appear otherwise. "You really think they were going at it," he deadpans. The medic shrugs.

"I don't think they intended to, but I think it happened anyway. And I know I'm right," Knock Out laughs. The look he's getting from Breakdown is purely not amused, but it's still one saying Breakdown believes it as much as he does.

"If it's going both ways I don't think we should be messing with Starscream," his assistant finally says, attending to his original task. Knock Out frowns and crosses his arms, not enjoying the idea of having nothing amusing to do, until Breakdown grins over his shoulder. "For once I actually think that's a better idea than yours. You in favor of not-getting-slagged?"

The red medic waves a servo. "Ah, whatever. We inadvertently succeeded anyway."

\- - - - -

Two solar cycles pass and Soundwave barely has time to notice this amid his work. Megatron has duly noted the absence of enough power in the case of emergency and Soundwave is searching human technology for something that will suffice. It's an irritating task; human energy devices tend to run on human resources and they don't need to be focusing on more than energon right now. The ones that don't are carefully concealed from records, leaving him with tricky little suggestions instead.

He's anxious, has been since he left Starscream's quarters, and he doesn't know why he's making such a big deal of things. They have continued under Megatron's command much the same way they always have, save for less sneering on Starscream's part (still there, just less of it. He couldn't honestly expect its disappearance). Laserbeak rests in her place of attachment - she hasn't been the same since he retrieved her from his quarters, either.

The communications officer has decrypted all of the wavelengths human military operates on. He is in the process of pinpointing one particular signature that's associated with Autobot frequencies. Overall, he has been relatively productive. Soundwave can't help but feel he's not handling his responsibilities up to par, though. He knows his professionalism breaks down more and more under the heavy thought of the Air Commander. And he feels guilty that perhaps this is transferring to his cassette.

His helm dips slightly as he sifts through vast quantities of useless information. He's rather upset. It's not as if Starscream is deliberately ignoring him or anything. Soundwave is just extremely reluctant to put his wants before his needs - and the line, between his wants and needs, is becoming quickly blurred. Soundwave does not understand how he's supposed to utilize their ... mutual agreement. So far he has merely continued giving attention to Starscream, with little noticeable impact.

It's going to involve some kind of delicate social interaction, this mess. His anxiety only gets worse (he's familiar with 'social interaction' and he knows they do not mix well. Add 'delicate' and he's sure something will violently and spontaneously combust). At least he's succeeded in tracking "Agent William Fowler".

Laserbeak sends a ping of worry to him, and he pauses in his review of the transmission he intercepts. Soundwave realizes he is even more out of sorts than he thought. He has let his discomfort slip over the bond they share, an exclusive mental one, and this is something he has been careful not to do. Though his petite flier does not seem overly agitated, she sends concern, little persistent questions as to what is wrong. Soundwave is gratified by this, but reassures her in the negative - he protects her, and she does not need to worry about him in return.

He uploads her directive through the main console - tracking the transmission he has decrypted - and she detaches with a whirr. Laserbeak hovers nearby for a moment, as if demanding a proper answer, but Soundwave pointedly ignores this (he is very good at pointedly ignoring things). Even if he did consider responding in full admittance of a problem, he is not about to trouble his _cassette_ with what is happening between him and Starscream. She is as far as he knows oblivious to this kind of problem, partially due to his own shielding efforts, and Soundwave would like to keep it that way.

Laserbeak departs at a brisk pace, dutifully following the directive she has been given, or so Soundwave assumes. He does not keep close track of what she's doing, only her medical status.

Her creator can deter her all he likes, but she has other methods of discovery than simply asking. They are both, after all, chiefly in charge of espionage.

\- - - - -

Starscream still is not fond of Soundwave's close proximity, but he is accustomed to it. Their shoulders almost touch as they sit in the empty rec room. He doesn't know what the rest of the Vehicons are doing, but his squadrons are relaying their formations as he instructed. And there had better be an improvement within the next solar cycle. He supposes the third-in-command has been busier than usual. The mech has rarely left his console today. That is to say, his interaction with Starscream today is minimal.

He stares at his cube of energon. Silence permeates the surroundings (not that he expected anything less). So he breaks it, since he doesn't see a reason not to.

"Humans are honestly disgusting," he remarks into the air. "Though they have peculiar good qualities."

Soundwave is possibly listening; the seeker doesn't wholly care if he isn't. He likes conversation when he's leading. "A few of them actually properly maintain their aircraft. I thought I wouldn't see silicon-free wax anywhere. Searching for it is trouble, but it's here. The _worst_ is their advertising."

The spy's helm inclines minutely.

"It's one thing to lie and another to blatantly and obviously lie. You have to do it half and half, but they, they try to sell product saying it will last a stellar cycle. At best, if you're not even in motion, it will last _half_ of one. Certainly speaks to their intelligence, doesn't it."

Silence descends again after Starscream finishes discussing the shortcomings of human marketing. It does not bother the seeker and gives him time to think (and the thinking is what begins to bother him, since his processor is adamant in sticking to how warm Soundwave is). The spy shifts, and Starscream immediately begins devising a way to stall for a few more moments. The strange closeness isn't growing on him and he's still not comfortable around the mech, but he's not in any rush to be alone again.

"Megatron has been lenient enough," he sighs, "with me." It's a drastic subject change.

This has Soundwave's attention, and the blank visor now faces his direction. Starscream finds this amusing - it must be surprising, that the mention of Megatron is not followed by a complaint. He snickers and wonders how much Soundwave is really aware of; maybe everything Megatron is aware of, and then again, maybe not. The Air Commander knows Soundwave was here before his own recruit to join the Decepticons, that the mech is probably their leader's favourite, but knows little else. Just how much is Soundwave privy to?

"Had I not ventured my way back into the mine we inspected - after it collapsed - I would have been formally offlined. Did you know that was his purpose in travelling there?"

Soundwave looks quickly away and then back to him, helm tilted.

No?

Yes?

Again, vague response. He can't tell. Starscream nods, reenforcing that yes, Megatron intended to kill him. He drinks from his cube and sets it down. "You know I slip here and there. Sometimes purposely, sometimes not. This time the mine wasn't cleaned out. And I would do the same he did, if I were him. You can't have a second-in-command _not_ cater to you, or choose _not_ to tell you about something," he waves his hand about, and then leans in, which appears to perturb the communications officer. "Still, I wouldn't classify myself as anything near Airachnid. I might divert a bit but I'm not a _deserter_."

And Soundwave nods. Starscream questions this within his processor, but only lets the satisfaction with it show. He's not sure if Soundwave's thinking follows his own, but if it does, and the mech agrees with him, that is truly an interesting development. (Conversation is hard when only one does the talking, but it's not impossible. Starscream can still get conclusive answers.)

"But _you_ know when I'm serving my own purpose; like before Megatron arrived," he drawls. "Why didn't you act on that? You very well could have. Surveillance chief and all."

Soundwave just tilts his helm again, and then shifts to face him. The spy's lower arm rests on the table now. The seeker doesn't move an inch at the contact coming from this, their legs touching in several places. He pays attention, since there isn't going to be a single word. They are in a public setting. He knows better than to expect everything to change just because they've come to an arrangement, is grateful that it doesn't.

Soundwave's servo extends from its rest on the table and one digit taps Starscream's insignia. Starscream cocks his brow at this. The spy taps it again.

"The cause?" he infers. A nod tells him he is correct, but he still isn't sure what to make of that response. Soundwave continued to bear with his treachery due to the Decepticon cause? Starscream will eventually make the connection, but it doesn't add up at the moment. Soundwave stands abruptly. His servo finds Starscream's shoulder, squeezes, and then the spy departs from the room at a brisker pace than the seeker has ever seen him walk.

Starscream sits in the room for another breem, finishing his cube and contemplating _what the hell_ is wrong with him because his sparkpulse is suddenly uncontrollable. He will put effort into deciphering Soundwave's response later, but he is frankly more concerned with his physical welfare right now.

And the scratch on his hip. He'll get back at Soundwave for it (even though it was likely unintentional). Starscream can't believe he didn't see it sooner; it won't do to be walking around with that. Not that he hasn't been walking around with it for the past two days. (Great.)

After he exits, reluctantly returning to the archiving console until the end of his shift for the day, the little drone sitting on one of the rec room's ceiling ledges whirs into the air, having successfully gone unnoticed.

\- - - - -

Megatron casts a preemptive glare at both the femme who has rejoined his ranks and his second. Do they truly think he believes either of them? The insect likely wants the cargo she claims is aboard the abandoned vessel for herself, and Starscream likely did not conduct the most thorough search. Both can bear with their mistakes.

And contrary to popular opinion (popular being the only honest one he ever hears, which is Starscream's), he does notice his soldiers. He notices that ST-3V3, one of the Vehicons he knows by designation, is carefully avoiding Breakdown. He takes note of his medic's very obvious eye rolling habits (but lets it slide because it's occasionally funny), and of the general restlessness on board. At present, he's noticing Starscream's badly concealed reluctance to work with Airachnid.

Therefore, Megatron has noticed Soundwave is out of sorts.

This is an exceedingly rare occurrence, and it is not of the same type he's seen before. It is difficult to notice, too, but he is relatively adept at picking up on the moods of his chief of communications after all these years. Soundwave is still very much private, and Megatron knows little about what this mech does in his spare time, but he can usually differ between depression and frustration with depression (those are the two main ones). Whatever Soundwave is now, emotionally, it's neither. The results are impressive. The spy's productivity - if this is even possible - has increased. Ironically, the mech is also taking regular breaks.

Megatron is nothing short of concerned.

The warlord watches this closely after the first few days of moodiness, keeping his hands free until he decides intervention is necessary. Not only does the mech finish each task he's given _within the solar cycle_ , he is actively multitasking. Megatron abruptly halts the search for a sufficient generator, neglecting to give Soundwave a reason, on purpose. Just to see if there's an effect.

He doesn't expect it to actually upset the spy, but he finds that his expectations are wrong. The spy continues tapping the keypad with much more force than is needed for the better part of a groon before scheduling a break. And he _stomps_ off the bridge - not in a way that's easily differentiated as stomping, but compared to usually silent footfalls, that's the term Megatron would use for it.

And like any dedicated leader, Megatron sets priority on finding, and fixing, the problem his third-in-command is having. Soundwave has never been very irritable before. He monitors Soundwave's location. The spy exits the ship, and for whatever reason, spends some time on the surface of this world Megatron couldn't have less respect for. Upon returning, Soundwave's signal disappears from the radar for a good breem. The warlord is not troubled by this. He simply pays close attention when it reappears, heading towards archiving.

Hmm.

Megatron considers a mild investigation. As far as he knows, Soundwave has no priorities involving archiving. He heads down to the console area quietly and calmly. It wouldn't do to stir up the Vehicons that are moving through the halls (especially K3V-1N, he's already caused at least two _stampedes_ , what in the Pits is that about?). He rounds the corner just enough to view the screens - all conveniently on one side of the room.

Events don't often surprise Megatron, but he finds himself again at a loss for words to see Soundwave (Primus damn his medic, the sense of humour is rubbing off on him) placing an energon cube to the side of the console his second is working at. Starscream's wings are hiked up high, but he's talking animatedly to the spy, who nods every so often. The conversation takes place at too low a volume for his audials to pick it up. It unnerves him all the same. The Air Commander is leaning in closer than associates do. Soundwave does not seem put off by this. That's a development. Well.

Soon after Soundwave departs, Megatron walks briskly through. Starscream is incredibly jumpy (Megatron is not going to drop all suspicion of more devious behaviour on the seeker's part, but he's giving the skittish jet some lenience for now). He does not acknowledge his SIC's ten-foot leap when he makes entrance and isn't particularly listening to the disjointed explanation Starscream tries to give. He's found the problem.

Alright, not a problem, per se, but one of the weirdest things he's encountered.

Megatron looks offhandedly at the mech who's diligently typing away again when he returns to the bridge, getting no small amount of amusement from the fact that Soundwave pointedly ignores his presence (the mech is very good at this). Though he can't say he was _prepared_ for this to be an issue, he is relieved that this frustrated attitude does not stem from dissension or something of that likeness. How to "fix" the issue, however. A brief laugh escapes. Soundwave's helm swivels, likely in confusion at the laughter. Megatron can only throw a grin in his direction.

"Fixing" is going to be ... interesting.

\- - - - -

Starscream fidgets. He's in trouble for something. He _has_ to be in trouble for something. Why else would Megatron be summoning him? He's been doing his assigned job (mostly. There are a few distractions that merit his concentration). He also wonders if Soundwave is somehow involved with this when he arrives at the command center, since the mech is already standing at attention. Can't he depend on the mech's word that he wouldn't divulge anything?--frag, he can't, _Soundwave is a spy_ \--Primus, he's in trouble, he's in trouble, he's in--

"Ah, Starscream."

Megatron turns around and is smirking at him. He's definitely in trouble.

"You recall the Harbinger's location, I assume. The contents of the ship must be secured."

Airachnid (eugh, she's been in the corner this whole time, he really doesn't like having that fragging spider around this ship) starts from her position. To Starscream's surprise, Megatron whips to glare at her, which halts her progress. "My Lord, I--"

"Airachnid. Do be so kind as to relay instructions to Soundwave," Megatron drawls. Airachnid stumbles for a moment, sputtering, before recollecting herself. She directs a cold scowl at the faceless mech and his two superiors and departs from the bridge, taking Megatron's warning to exit. Starscream, although mildly relieved he will not be working with the spider, is still concerned for his physical safety. The warlord refocuses his attention.

"You and Soundwave are to retrieve the contents _you_ left behind within the next orn. Priority should be placed on mining operations and strategy for now. That is all."

Starscream nods, more relief coursing through him, and at his master's command he leaves the promptly. He doesn't dare venture a glance at Soundwave - he'll see the spy later, anyway - and immediately resumes his post. In his thoughts, he is suspicious, though he takes care not to voice any of these suspicions aloud even slightly. Why wouldn't Megatron take the opportunity to force him to cooperate with Airachnid? His leader delights in that kind of thing, trying to make his soldiers get along with each other (Starscream scoffs, of course that's never going to happen). Delights in tormenting him, for that matter.

Unless Soundwave is involved, in some clandestine way, it doesn't add up. Starscream sincerely wishes the spy weren't part of some plan to get at him. This is on his mind (quite possibly affecting his work) until his shift is complete, and he returns (well, he does meander around a little, first) to his quarters. The seeker is not certain as to whether Soundwave is available at present, or how he would go about demanding company. Then again, demanding might work. Demanding has worked just fine in the past.

His quarters are relatively unchanged, but Starscream pays attention to details, and there, placed inconspicuously amid the things he occasionally attempts to upgrade, is something that does not belong. At first, there's rage at the fact that he was naive enough to let Soundwave see the input code for his room. Then this softer feeling, and then horror at that softer feeling because _Primus damn Soundwave, does he even know what he's doing_. The courting protocol jumps to the forefront of his processor at the gift. The seeker is less disturbed by that in itself, than he is at his own reaction.

He's impressed.

So, when there's a telltale ping in his comm link requesting a private channel, he accepts the straightforward proposition that is offered via this channel. Honestly, why let something positive go to waste, when he's in a frame of mind that welcomes it?

Starscream remembers the scratch in his plating he's neglected to fix and scrambles for the shelf he keeps supplies on. He has _almost_ officially invited Soundwave here and he refuses to display that mark. The seeker is already concerned that this arrangement is the product of high-grade; he sincerely wants the upcoming encounter to be as pleasurable as the first, but suspects enhanced sensitivity could have affected that. And he's concerned that Soundwave will change his mind, which is why he would like to keep this under wraps as much as possible. The mark needs to go away.

There are logical reasons. Starscream's programming would just like to be contradictory and acknowledge a different reason - it looks like he's been claimed. First of all, seeker programming is ridiculous (damn heat cycles), so that negates any merit. Second of all, he doesn't care even if it looks like that. Third of all, if it did look like Soundwave was staking a claim on him, he would be unsettled, which he is not.

And lastly, the fact that he is not unsettled, and it _does_ look like a claim, doesn't scare him one bit.

\- - - - -

"Well damn," Robert says, gawking at the empty shelving in the back room. It's six in the morning and they've just opened shop; apparently shop was already opened via the roof. Geoffrey is preoccupied with staring at the hole in the ceiling.

"What do you mean, damn? The _hell_. We just renovated."

"I mean damn, Jeff, 'cause _that_ was all the Skywash," Robert says, voice cracking as he gestures forlornly at the empty section. "The damn Skywash silicon-free."

"The what?" Geoffrey says, head still craned towards the gaping hole. Sparks pop and crackle from exposed wires, and he thinks they might be able to salvage something, enough to patch up the mess. Robert grabs his business partner's shoulders and shakes him.

"All the wax-polish product you pay two hundred a gallon for. That stuff you complain about, Jeff. Gone. Talking thousands in profit, gone."

Geoffrey finally looks at the shelving unit and wonders why in hell someone would steal twenty gallons of jet wax and leave the thousand-dollar car stuff untouched. And it's still a massive loss, so he reacts to it the same as Robert, especially when they find out the security feed for all of yesterday was replaced with some damn anime girl singing Finnish polka. She's twirling a damn vegetable like a baton. They stare at the screen for a good ten or so minutes, in shock, before Geoffrey plops into the chair beside Robert:

"Well damn."

\- - - - -

Soundwave gives his cassette a distasteful look. All she does is flutter numerous sets of wings at him and send him another redundant scan of his signs. Particularly the strained EM field. He _knows_ he's dragging static around, and he doesn't need to hear that from her. But she does have the best intentions, so he uploads a new directive to her in an effort to keep her focused on other things. In doing so, he finds that her previous directive has not been completed, and does not think too much of it. There is weather interference on this planet that makes it dangerous for her to finish tracking, even moreso recently. He thinks it may have something to do with seasonal changes.

Laserbeak exits without protesting (though she would very much like to flit up towards the ceiling and hover in refusal). She has no desire to agitate her creator any further. He is already stressed, and she knows it has _something_ to do with their commander. She just can't, for the life of her, figure out _what_. Perhaps it is a directive for which she is does not have clearance, but orders have never, ever bothered Soundwave before.

She chirrs - upset and frustrated. She wants to help her creator in any way she can, but if she doesn't know what she is trying to help, where is she supposed to begin? Laserbeak reviews her new objective in resignation. For now, she will do what her creator asks of her.

Presently, that means perimeter surveillance. Never a bad thing, though she suspects it's merely busy work.

Soundwave watches as the door to his quarters seals shut after Laserbeak. He reluctantly accepts that the frustration he's carrying is not going to simply dissipate. And also considers that interface is one of the better ways to get it out of his system (the spy is fully aware that this is going to become a vicious cycle, but it hasn't yet and so he ignores the eventuality). He just isn't sure how he wants to go about bringing up the arrangement. Practicality can't save them both from awkward conversations.

The mech is sure of one thing; he is not traversing the Nemesis all the way to Starscream's quarters to be told 'no' (even if that's not technically an option, to say 'no') and then have to make his way back. Soundwave would much rather have a plan in his processor before attempting anything.

The plan he wants does not have time to form before he is requesting a comm link, a private one, and cursing himself. Soundwave hasn't developed any string of words yet; if Starscream opens the channel, his vocal components will not configure.

 _:: Soundwave-- ::_ the seeker pauses, _:: --is there anything you consider pressing enough for a private comm link? ::_

 _:: Requesting: to spend evening: validating agreement, ::_ Soundwave manages. 

A laugh cuts over through the comm link. _:: You have a very open invitation. How quickly can you get here? ::_

Soundwave abruptly cuts off the channel. He hopes this does not incite anger in Starscream and spends half a klik trying to shut down his fans before he realizes he should probably start walking. Any groundbridge activation at this hour with no planned excursions would only alert Megatron (neither of them need that. Megatron has been acting oddly around him lately.) The spy still struggles to come to terms with the fact that his awful attempt at communicating actually _worked_ while he is pacing to the seeker's quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will respond to your review (I am speaking to you, precious reader). Promise. Each and every one of the people who leaves kudos or gives feedback is valued and special in my personal opinion, to me personally. These poor peeps (I mean, I honestly don't feel bad for Rob and Jeff, 'cause they unknowingly supported this ship, sooooo other than those two, "these poor peeps"). The mess gets bigger.
> 
> On a totally side note, seriously, Leekspin. Finnish polka is awesome. And if you did not catch the reference to the girl twirling a vegetable, to go www.leekspin.com. I had it on a loop for three hours. Also, formatting on here is a pain in the tush. Any suggestions to make the hour-long process of setting up spacing and italics faster, are very welcome. Also, save my soul.


	4. Is All You Crave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream was being serious about that console, and Soundwave is trying to handle some very serious emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor everyone in this chapter. (Except spider bitch). This is kind of a late post because I may have entirely rewritten this chapter last night. Also, if you haven't heard Magic by Mystery Skulls, you should go check it out. It's all I listened to while I was writing this. Enjoy the subliminal feels. (And the filth) (There's so much) (What am I doing)

Soundwave isn't given time to think about where he's going with this. Upon his arrival, Starscream quite literally drags him into the room, grinning like he's getting away with murder. "You're fast," the seeker says. 

The spy does not share that opinion, seeing as he was attempting to delay. He does not know if Starscream discovered what he left or not; he almost forgot about it. The immediate generation of nervousness ensues (it didn't necessarily mean anything, he reassures himself, he just had a streak of generosity at the time). The spy squashes the feeling, stressed, and turns his concentration to Starscream, who backs over to the edge of his berth. 

"You _did_ come here for a reason? Don't tell me you're just going to stand there," the seeker taunts, "Or is that what you meant by 'validating'?" Soundwave gives up on holding back all the frustration. It is not a matter of restraint. Starscream is not going to _mock_ him. It doesn't matter to him whether it's meant to be mocking or not. The words aren't in nearly as playful a tone as Starscream would need to for him to just let it go. It's sneering, and he doesn't like it.

He does not have to respond to it verbally. There are other ways of getting back at Starscream than just expressing his distaste - one comes to mind quicker than the rest, and so Soundwave decides to attempt it. 

The seeker closes his optics as Soundwave advances, expecting ... well, he's not entirely sure what he's expecting, but it's not for the spy to push him onto his own berth and shove his legs apart. And yet it happens. In a sparkpulse, he knows what Soundwave's goal is (he doesn't want to be helpless, but he doesn't think he has a choice). A hot glossa drags over his panel. It's not effective at first, but he holds back on complaining, and it's worth keeping his mouth shut. The more Soundwave explores the seams (and the longer this goes on), Starscream's restlessness increases.

The spy hooks silver thighs over his shoulders, more comfortable for both of them, and continues lapping, sucking at the well-concealed edges of the interface panel. He wants Starscream to open of his own accord when it's too much, when the seeker's self-control fails. Despite the overwhelming knowledge that he doesn't know _how_ to proceed, he wants to try. He at least has knowledge of how this might be done. (Though he likes to refrain from thinking of the multiple surveillance issues he's had to behold.) 

Starscream's frame tingles with sensation and his servos find Soundwave's shoulder plating, then his helm. He can fight the urge to open up, right until Soundwave adds his digits to the mix and presses. The seeker's panel retracts, and valve cover soon after. He dislikes the idea of letting Soundwave win, but his frame dislikes being denied. Ah, well. Starscream can't argue with that. He scratches at Soundwave's shoulders (the spy has neglected to continue right away, and he can't see why). 

Soundwave prods the mesh, which results in Starscream pushing his hips forward in a demand for more. He wants to see the seeker lose it completely, but he is not willing to rush. The spy doesn't _plan_ on keeping Starscream waiting very long, he just would like to navigate thoroughly. Starscream impatiently squirms. Soundwave responds to the sudden outreach of Starscream's field, too, arousal with sharp peaks of annoyance. He purposely withholds even his ventilations, inhibiting any stimulation. Starscream has no right to be annoyed with him. The seeker digs one of his pointed pedes into Soundwave's back.

That won't do.

"Starscream: desist," he commands. The mech scowls (it is a comical expression with his optics closed) and digs in harder. It stings. Retaliation is definitely not fair. Soundwave reaches up and pinches one of the seeker's wings.

Starscream huffs. Albeit reluctantly, he stops attempting to coerce Soundwave to continue. His frame stills and the spy kisses his inner thigh before ceasing to move. The seeker waits, his core temperature uncomfortably high, waits and _waits and he's going to_ kill _Soundwave--_

Without warning, the spy's mouth forcefully investigates Starscream's valve. The gasping shriek he earns from this is compensation enough for the seeker's impatience (the act in itself is worth it, really). His servos steady the mech's hips and act as a clamp, allowing him to map out the valve, touch, savor. Starscream tastes like pure lust, which he doesn't know how to describe; he's trying to watch Starscream's expression but he's also absorbed in what he's doing. The communications officer lets his EM field stir the seeker's to excitement. He's excited, too.

Starscream lets his wings expand. _Oh. Oh Primus. Yes._ Oh _yes_. He does his best not to thrash, helm falling back as Soundwave gets more intense. The spy's glossa thoroughly explores the mesh, derma sucking on the heated metal. It feels _so good_ \- he can't even remember when someone did this last, and surely they weren't anywhere close to this. He shifts around with every swipe over the anchor nodes embedded in the lining, despite his best efforts. Soundwave works his fingers into the aperture and his frame is unbearably hot.

The spy wants to find something that will catch Starscream off guard once more, partially because he wants to watch the pretty flier unravel under his attention (and partially because he likes finding new things to be superior at). Already he's fighting to hold back from just ravaging Starscream, but he wants to achieve the goal he's set first. Directive before desires (He's not even following that rule, is he?). He soon discovers that, when paired, his glossa and fingers are very effective, especially in certain places. The seeker delights in it, if the heavy vents, the tight grip, the loud responses are any indication. Once he affirms the most reactive spots to the stimuli, Soundwave pauses.

Starscream has a feeling he's in trouble when Soundwave stops. He freezes as a laugh sends hot air over his exposed array. In an instant, pleasure surges through his circuits, nearly frying them. Soundwave's fingers work together with his glossa, and Starscream is a hot mess. His servos run over the spy's helm, trying to gain some leverage, attempting to reciprocate and demand more at the same time. (He doesn't know what he's doing.)

Soundwave thrusts his glossa more insistently and feels the seeker tense, the expression on Starscream's face absolute rapture. His spark pulses at seeing the seeker respecting what he's asked of him, and he rewards this with a particularly forceful suck (so he has been teasing a _bit_ , possibly). The most resonant cry yet breaks free amid the dense whir of Starscream's fans, and a warm rush of lubricant coats Soundwave's glossa. His optics lock on the seeker, whose tense frame writhes in overload.

Starscream quivers, wings flexing as his servos tighten their grip on his partner's helm, riding out the euphoric sensation until overload ebbs. Soundwave moves then, hovering above Starscream. The seeker is all too happy to work his limbs around the spy and pull him closer, grinding open array against Soundwave's panel. Apparently, Starscream is still prepared for more. The spy nips the seeker's jaw, revelling in the gasp it gets him. He decides to explore Starscream's mouth - dermas part to grant him entrance.

The silver jet's hips lift, attempting to gain more friction, and Soundwave does not deny him. There are only two sounds in the room as the spy's panel retracts - vents that struggle to cycle air and metal-on-metal. Soundwave plans on decently pacing this, to make sure Starscream is okay (the last thing he wants is a painful repeat of the last time), but he doesn't get the chance. 

Starscream forces him in as soon as his spike unsheathes from its housing, claws at his spinal plating, bites at his neck - evidently fine. They pick up a joint rhythm soon enough. Their EM fields are intersecting on so many levels it feels like they meld. 

" _Yeees,_ " Starscream moans, thrilled.

The nodes in his valve are on fire, another overload building after the first (and quicker; his sensornet has lost all resistance to pleasure). Everything is fast, too fast but it's fine, too fast is good. He can't help opening his mouth, telling Soundwave all the things he wants, all the things he likes. He's saying things he'd cringe at, just to hear the spy's vents hitch with every phrase. And Primus, it's a good decision to do that. Soundwave's hips slamming into his send him screaming into white bliss not a few kliks later. The seeker doesn't have time to come down from the high before he feels a _third_ on its way. He writhes, needing either release or a complete halt (he'd prefer the release).

Soundwave isn't sure _what_ just happened, but Starscream's valve cinches tight around him and he can hardly function. He's closer to the breaking point with each whimper from beneath him. And the breaking point catches him suddenly, hits hard enough that he shakes. He's riding his overload against Starscream's slender frame, gasping.

The seeker pants, Soundwave's overload and the pooling heat in his valve pushing him to teeter on the edge of his own. He whines, arches, begs. Just a few more, a few more--

The spy's vents stall as Starscream's valve clenches again. It's too much; it feels so good it hurts. Starscream doesn't make a sound, fans whirring on overdrive. He clings to Soundwave's frame to hold him there. The spy is just easing away from overload as Starscream is hitting it, and softens the sensation for the seeker by pressing dermas to the mech's neck cabling, stroking his quivering wings. 

A full klik passes before Starscream's grip can loosen, and the seeker sinks back into his berth, exhausted. Soundwave withdraws, both of their panels sliding back into place. He reaches for Starscream, curling around the mech as the seeker _hmm_ s. Starscream settles in, lacking the motivation to move. Having his optics closed makes it harder to resist recharge for very long, even harder when his berth is so warm. He's out like a light, with Soundwave brushing digits over his down-swept wings.

The spy admires little details in Starscream's frame for a while. He would like to continue save for the fact that his mind is wandering, taking routes that he'd rather it didn't. He's well aware that he's become emotionally invested. (He's been emotionally invested since before this began.) Not good. Hopefully Starscream is not aware of this; he has no reason to suspect that the seeker _is_ , but he is sure Starscream is taking extra precaution in hiding his thoughts. Not that he would be intruding on those. The last thing he needs is to incur that kind of guilty feeling within himself again (who is he kidding, it's still there).

So he decides to recharge, figuring it is best for his systems. They will have to complete their objective later and he knows mere energy reserves will not be enough if the Autobots are alerted to their mission. Things will simply go back to their somewhat normal state tomorrow, no matter what he does.

\- - - - -

Starscream is out of recharge and flustered, absolutely flustered. His plating crawls and he strategically removes himself from the tangle of limbs he and the spy have created, preventing the other mech from stirring. For all of a breem he's confused, trying to get himself to calm down, before he realizes there is literally nothing he can do about it. He checks, double-checks, and then checks the double-check. 

Heat cycle.

He snarls in frustration. Couldn't it wait? This is the least opportune time - Primus, he has to leave the Nemesis at some point during this orn and potentially run into the enemy. He very well knows the damn on-fire feeling is periodic, thus why he usually sticks near his quarters for emergency relief. If he's off-ship, he doesn't have that resource available. And it is _that_ crippling, having insatiable libido for _days_ \- he is mildly guilty about leaving the room while Soundwave is still recharging, but he needs the space. Frag it, he needs the space. He can explain later. (Explain that seekers were given the Primus-damned cyclic need to get fragged. That's going to be fun.) 

The seeker stalks down the hall, rage punctuating his steps, and opens the comm link that relays his commands to the aerial fleet. He can probably rid himself of some of the tension if he schedules today as a training regimen. And for what he thinks is the thousandth time during his life, he curses seeker programming to the Pits of Kaon.

He shoves past the only femme aboard, willing no one else to get in his way, and ignores the Vehicons that cast him odd glances. The SIC is not in a mood which inclines him to be passive. He's more likely to impale any obstacles he comes across until his plating is no longer flaming.

\- - - - -

Half the solar cycle has passed in a state of substantial worry. Soundwave hasn't seen Starscream for hours, and though he was out of recharge relatively early, Starscream wasn't there. The empty room wasn't an issue then, but the complete disappearance of the seeker is. He hasn't been anywhere near the command center, or archiving (wasn't he assigned there? Soundwave thinks so), or the med bay, or even the flight deck. Soundwave knows this because he has been looking periodically when he has opportunity to leave his post.

The spy eases up on the poor keypad (he silently apologises to his console). He has typed in command codes progressively harder since Airachnid entered. The spider in the background is highly irritating. At present, she is attempting to persuade Megatron to let her join them on the mission, and their leader is having none of it (at first). As the kliks of the femme's persistence go by, she seems to be wearing him down.

"Airachnid, if you have so many doubts about the success of my two highest officers, why don't you go as a scout for them. An extra _reassurance_."

Megatron's intention is to make the insect reconsider how ridiculous she's being, but she accepts the supposal instead. The warlord dismisses her and she exits, spewing gratitude. Soundwave wonders how she might look if she spontaneously exploded. Megatron's expression suggests he shares the same thoughts. He departs from the control center soon after, having been updated on the mining conditions. Soundwave fights the huff he feels coming on; Megatron keeps giving him _that look_ , which is unnerving.

Soundwave re-immerses himself in the datastream, prioritizing. There are three things he aims to triangulate: the location of Fowler, the location for a new potentially productive mine, and where Starscream is, in that order. He has trouble with the first because the humans have detected a foreign entity in their communications. It is probable he will have to get through both firewalls and ciphers - easy enough, but time consuming. And just as he starts the delicate operation that is hacking, the console flashes.

::MANUAL SHUTDOWN::

What? He didn't shut down the console--Soundwave attempts to override. He catches it fast enough, codes to override the inexplicable shutdown in time. It should work. The screen goes black anyway, just after the error message is displayed.

His clearance is not high enough to override.

Movement in his peripheral draws his attention like a lightning rod, a sudden appearance of silver in his vision. Starscream has entered the bridge, shut down the consoles, managed to sneak past him. And now the seeker squirms between Soundwave and the computer, perches on the keypad, and spreads lithe legs. "Playtime," Starscream states. The mech's EM field is pressing heavily on his own, hitting him with a barrage of want. Its undertones are desperate.

Soundwave still has semblance enough of dignity to stutter. "Re-repeat:--?"

"Frag me. Now."

The spy collects himself in record time and attempts to back up, though not getting very far. Starscream grabs his shoulder and one of the spires on his helm, dragging him closer. "St-Starscream: location: inappro--"

Starscream glowers at him and snarls. "The room will be clear for the next two breems. You're not allowed to say no. We have a _deal_."

The spy tears away as Starscream's claws nearly puncture his shoulder. The frustration he thought he had suppressed comes back full force. It shoves all the uncertainty, surprise, and relief out of the picture. Starscream isn't giving him an explanation for his absence? And he remembers why his processor is more trustworthy than his spark - this is a notoriously _Starscream_ thing to do. Soundwave directs that conflict at the seeker.

"Clarify: reason for: imposition," Soundwave demands. Starscream rolls his optics. Just like the spy to be so straightforward. Talking to this mech agitates him to begin with (why is Soundwave talking so often? And when did he accept this as a regular occurrence?). Does he really need to 'clarify' a heat cycle?

The spy takes another step back. Apparently he does.

"Because I'm going through a fragging _heat cycle_ Soundwave, and if you don't do something _right now_ I'm going to go to my quarters, and take care of this my _self_ , and you can _forget this entire arrangement_ ," he bites. The heat behind his interface panel hurts, it honestly hurts, and he hopes that the spy chooses the 'do something about it' option. He _did_ decide to come here instead of self-servicing.

Soundwave brings rational thinking before his emotions and does not give weight to the nasty tone Starscream is using. He searches Starscream's EM field instead, shoving the thick cloud of lust in it aside. The seeker isn't enjoying this at all - he just wants relief from his own programming. Soundwave discovers this and knows he's about to cave. He understands not being able to control things like that. He has experience.

" _Now, frag, now_!" Starscream hisses.

The aggression shatters the second the spy taps at his panel, levelling his helm with it. The seeker shutters his optics, deteriorating into needy whimpers and then moans as Soundwave's mouth works. It is a much better solution than taking care of himself. Soundwave doesn't need to do anything to get Starscream worked up, not now, not when he's already shaking, but he's doing that thing with his glossa again. Starscream tries to settle back and _oh Primus_ he's going to--

The seeker screams into the empty command center, screams until the overload stops wracking his frame enough for him to formulate words. Even then, he's panting in the aftermath, legs shivering against the console. "Th--at's not fragging me, Sound--Soundwave," he breathes, his array still scorching. It's not quite manageable yet, but he's not in pain. The spy does not waste time, sinking into his valve with little resistance. They have possibly a breem left, if Starscream goes with the optimistic estimate.

He gets a second overload that makes him completely incoherent and lets the heat bleed away. Soundwave is efficient - not rough, just very efficient. Starscream would not admit out loud that he appreciates it this once, but he concedes to admit to it in his own thoughts. Soundwave interfaces like he knows how badly it's needed, how little the heat cycle is wanted. And maybe he does know; maybe the rumours Starscream has heard are true, and that's how the spy knows. Or maybe he's just intuitive; whatever. The seeker doesn't care. Not when he's coming down from a necessary high, relieved beyond being capable of caring.

Soundwave makes comforting circles on Starscream's thighs as the desire in the seeker's EM field becomes less suffocating. Although he doesn't think Starscream would protest, he does not have overload in mind for himself. He has work to do, so the spy simply withdraws and resolves to handle a mildly uncomfortable state of being for a while. The seeker takes only a klik or so to ease back into normal functioning, and just in time.

The assigned Vehicons reenter the bridge, glancing at their two commanding officers with little intrigue before returning to their stations. Soundwave still is not certain what the reason for their dismissal was, but he assumes it is believable enough. Starscream excels at devising plausible reasoning, and that is putting it in the nicest light he dares to put it in.

Starscream puts his servo on Soundwave's arm just before he departs, aiming to convey some kind of gratitude without drawing anyone else's attention. The spy merely nods, and though Starscream isn't sure if it's in understanding, he takes it as such. At least he is less unsure of utilizing their pact when he needs to (or wants to, as he very well might).

Soundwave deletes the command center's security feed for the past groon and replaces it with a loop of the previous one. It wouldn't do to have anyone see that. He directs his energy to fashioning a cloaking mechanism, or signature mask, that will shield his intrusion in the humans' military communications network next. It takes him two groons to complete a trial version (he has few doubts it will work; this is one of the things he somewhat enjoys to do) and a few kliks to run diagnostics on the footage Laserbeak has sent him. It displays nothing unusual; is quite repetitive as it is normally. Good.

That means he can afford to take a solid block of time and isolate himself in his quarters.

\- - - - -

Airachnid openly detests Megatron's second-in-command and is certain it's mutual. She has yet to experience more than a snappy attitude or scowling expression, which is why it piques her interest when Starscream brusquely shoves her aside in the hall. She's inclined to return the action, but he's already gone, and she needs an audience with their lord.

The spider is thankful that careful approach and determination have changed Megatron's mind about her participation in the upcoming retrieval mission. It is not of as much value if Starscream and Soundwave bring the object they are after back to their liege. That neither gets her any particular favour with Megatron nor lands the artifact in her possession. But if she aims to go rogue again, a very tempting option, the weapon she knows is aboard the Harbinger will be invaluable, and as a scout, she is likely to obtain it first.

Still, she notes the increase in Starscream's aggression. It could help or hinder her general goals - cause a blunder on his behalf that enables her objectives, or result in an unprecedented loss on her part. Airachnid frowns. It wouldn't do to make guesses or assumptions. Going rogue is a dangerous affair in itself; Megatron does not take kindly to that. She will take precautions that she needs to, namely, keep optics on the mechs she will be 'working with'.

Should either pose a significant threat to her plans, Airachnid will have to look for another opportunity, or seek a way to eliminate them from the present picture.

\- - - - -

Laserbeak has learned many a thing from Soundwave over the years. She has learned how to escape notice like nobody's business, how to read into an EM field that's been retracted, and how to work her way around firewalls. It's not much compared to her creator, but it is presently quite useful.

Currently, the cassette is connecting to the security feed of the command center through the console in their quarters. She has been following Starscream for the most part of today, but did not want to expose that fact by encountering Soundwave on the bridge, where Starscream was headed last. Security feed should suffice.

She pieces together timing, and does so quickly. Soundwave may give her tasks, but she still has reasoning capabilities, another thing she's learned. Laserbeak knows that, when she's given one of those tasks she classifies as busy work, Soundwave is absent from his usual posts and their quarters. She _infers_ that the time is being spent near Starscream in some way. The cassette isn't sure what Soundwave's intentions are in trying to hide his associations from her; she's not bothered by them, and she does not have any animosity towards their commander. (Actually, Starscream is less harsh in dealing with her personally, which amuses her.) She just would like to make sure Soundwave is okay.

She isn't _naive_. Laserbeak has been around all sorts of people for too long, especially the rowdy groups of soldiers, to be naive. She does, however, appreciate that her creator is so protective of her.

Laserbeak knows where things are headed when Starscream perches on the console's keypad. She does not have an interest in any of the details, so choosing not to watch. If she had known this was the extent of their interaction, it would have made things easier. Still, the discovery is not enough. She wishes her creator would simply tell her the reasons for the emotions that leak over their bond. It worries her to feel so much anxiety and frustration. Though, considering everything, it worries her much less that it has something to do with Starscream. It isn't as if Soundwave is upset over their mutual losses again. That had been her major fear.

She is glad that the footage is deleted when she checks again; her creator is still himself, is still careful. Laserbeak is careful too, taking time to erase her activity from the console's history. She uses a scatter trick she has observed several times to make her recorded access anonymous. The absolute worst thing would be if Soundwave didn't trust her.

She receives a ping that asks for transmission of her retrieved footage from Soundwave. Because the real video feed would display only Starscream, she takes a loop from several weeks ago and sends that instead. Like most days, it is an uneventful recording. If he is presently distracted (and she knows he has to be; he hasn't asked for her to report straight to him in the control center), he won't take note of the timestamp. That, she cannot erase.

A breem goes by and she is in the clear. Soundwave commends her for her work via their bond (he never forgets that, and it never fails to make her happy). Laserbeak disconnects from the console and plans to return to her surveillance of Starscream. Perhaps she can infer something else from the seeker's behaviour, since she can't get a peep out of her creator.

\- - - - -

Soundwave doesn't know how many more potentially embarrassing situations Starscream is going to put him into. Within three solar cycles, the mech has come up with no small amount of them. He was dragged through the halls (conveniently empty) and into the Air Commander's quarters at least twice. Last solar cycle, Starscream excused them _both_ from a meeting (that one was actually very convincing until Starscream demanded to be fragged against the wall in the corridor). The seeker has even made advances on the flight deck, of all places.

This time they are in the rec room. Starscream's servo is playing around with Soundwave's inner thigh and it's making him uncomfortable. The seeker has also been doing this sort of thing since the console incident (Soundwave labels it 'blatant groping' because there's no other description he can think of). The first time it happened, Soundwave swears his sparkpulse stopped right in the middle of his security review. Somehow Starscream continues managing to grab at him and avert reproach. 

The seeker has found in the recent past few days that he's comfortable when he initiates the touching, and that it makes Soundwave jumpy. (What an ironic twist.) He's had to suppress several impulses, though, of a more affectionate caliber - they only come around occasionally. He isn't making a claim on Soundwave or anything. It wouldn't do to give his programming the wrong idea during a heat cycle. Seekers have had that problem - getting too sentimental around someone; it's a death trap if heat programming takes that as a cue to sparkmate. He's heard of it happening before. Not fun.

There are a couple that he deems aren't breaking either his boundaries or overreaching their agreement, like now - even if the intention is not suggestive, he's pretty sure it registers as such. Which makes it safe. He also wonders just how far he can push it before Soundwave sets a limit on touching.

Soundwave peruses Starscream's EM field to distract himself from the seeker's servo. Starscream is contented for now (why is he so provocative if he doesn't need to be?). Curiosity gets the better of him, and he presses closer to the edge of Starscream's conscious. It's deeper than the EM field, but not by much. Some mechs who don't possess the same abilities can do what he's doing (Primus, now he's rationalizing to keep guilt at bay, that's not good). And if he keeps his presence inconspicuous, Starscream won't notice, not in this more unobtrusive area.

He picks up on the self-serving intent right away, the avarice. It is unsurprising, and is consistent. The fleeting thoughts however, quick as they are, are strong ones. Those are more unanticipated. Starscream is actively seeking a reaction to affection; Soundwave doesn't understand why the groping is his avenue of choice, but can't push further to find out. What he does find is subliminal motivation, and it is loneliness. Once the spy catches it, the feeling tinctures Starscream's conscious, is present everywhere, and Soundwave contemplates how he missed it initially.

He wants it to go away, wants to make it go away himself, wants to soothe it. He could make sure Starscream had someone to go to. He could make sure Starscream felt appreciated. He could give _so much more_.

Soundwave startles. No, he couldn't. They have responsibilities...and Starscream would never, ever let him. Starscream doesn't trust him. Doesn't even like him.

He does not realize he's pulled away from Starscream entirely until he removes himself from the seeker's EM field, takes in the sincere confusion Starscream displays. The jet impatiently taps his now unoccupied servo on the table. "Soundwave, don't tell me you're going to protest _now_."

Starscream watches Soundwave carefully; the spy talks to him more than previously but majorly communicates in silence. He expects he's found the limit. But Soundwave does not tell him so, doesn't protest, does not explain anything. And swiftly leaves him sitting in the rec room. (Is this going to become a common occurrence?) He supposes the mech had an important prerogative come up unexpectedly. (Unless he scared Soundwave off, which is a possibility.)

He opens a private comm link, intent on resolving things. If he _did_ make Soundwave that uncomfortable, it won't do to leave it as is. They can establish the inherently inappropriate touching as a restriction.

His request is declined.

Starscream frowns and attempts again, only to get the same response, eventually receiving no acknowledgement at all. He has to discuss squadron formations with his team of Eradicons within the next groon; he doesn't have time for this. Did he do something wrong, or didn't he? He almost uses a public channel to demand Soundwave answer him, but has to decide against it. This falls under a category of things he'd rather not have everyone involved in.

He stops trying after a while, figuring the spy will get back to him at a more opportune time or will get over whatever injury he's taken to spark. And he's convinced the waiting method will work, for half the next solar cycle, until it doesn't. Until Soundwave does not search him out, does not answer his comm requests, and pretends he does not exist when they are both needed at the command center, Starscream is confident.

There is a part of him that is hurt by it, a part that insists it's his own fault for purposely testing the threshold of Soundwave's patience. Starscream chooses instead to listen to the other part, the one which is in outrage. Soundwave isn't _allowed_ to just disregard him like this. And when Starscream is angry about something, he vents. Loudly.

\- - - - -

Knock Out winces, rubbing his left audial. "Something's grinding his gears," he drawls.

Breakdown nods, and both turn their helms as the entrance to the med bay reopens. Airachnid glances at both from the doorway before examining her servo.

" _I'll_ say. Any clue what it might be? Hopefully nothing serious."

Breakdown discreetly taps Knock Out on the shoulder before he can even open his mouth, shaking his helm when Airachnid diverts her gaze. The spider is acting nonchalant, but she's not. The medic agrees to say nothing. Neither are very keen on the femme; not that they particularly like Starscream either, but Airachnid is definitely the more subversive option.

"Archiving," Breakdown states, turning as though he means to use the medical console. He's not the best at mastering a facial expression, so he relies on his tone and shrugs for emphasis, "Screamer's been ranting about that for days. You missed the worst of it."

"If that's not the worst, I don't want to know what the worst is," Airachnid lilts, seemingly losing interest. "We'll catch up later."

"Catch up later, my aft," Knock Out mutters when she is out of hearing range, looking at Breakdown. "I'd tell Starscream about that, but he'd probably just get more annoyed. I don't feel like fixing blown fuses anywhere near those claws."

"We don't have to tell him now, but we should at least say something before they leave."

"Leave?"

"Megatron has them scoping out the Harbinger sometime this orn."

"Airachnid, too? I thought that was just Soundwave and Starscream."

"It _was_ ," Breakdown says, rolling his optics. Knock Out's expression twists.

"Eugh. Glitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spider bitch, spider bitch. Spider bitch needs to be squished. (I hate her so much, I hate her _so_ muchhhhh) Jeez. So, hey, things go downhill from here, no thanks to Starscream's angry little aft. Soundwave, 'fess up already. Please review, I love reviews! Appreciated every one that's been posted (which is all of them). You made me cry, you guys. That's a good thing, despite being very hard to explain to onlookers. ;P


	5. No Doubt You're In Deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh-ho boy. Feelings. Tricky things, feelings are. Oh, snap, almost forgot. Plot. The majority of the crazy random happenstances next will be plot (IF YOU GET THIS REFERENCE PLEASE COMMENT OH MY GOD _*SCREAMS about soundtrack*_ ), so I threw in your last bit of the smuts for the next few (few meaning many) chapters. Fair warning, it's not on a satisfying note. (I tried, I'm sorry) (I'm sorry I'm so full of sin)

Starscream wasn't certain he could get more angry with the way Soundwave is being, but now he's positive. It was one thing to intentionally make him nervous, another to ignore him, and it's a completely different thing to avoid him. The spy has to be monitoring where he is and changing his own location accordingly; Starscream has not seen Soundwave, period.

Oh, they communicate, certainly. Starscream and Soundwave converse over public comm channels on the preparations for their assignment. Soundwave uses playbacks (reasonable considering his concealment of face and voice, but still irritating). Starscream keeps his sentences clipped. Both let the channel fall into silence when Airachnid's comm signal appears. He will brief her on their approach when the time comes. He's not in the mood to talk to eight-legged treacherous harpies.

Paranoia is not something Starscream readily indulges in, but it constantly surfaces. He would rather focus on ulterior motives than the churn in his tanks when Soundwave once again isn't around the next corner. So he does focus on it, promotes it above the feelings he doesn't want to address. In true Starscream fashion. 

The seeker broods in his quarters, pacing, coming up with all sorts of scenarios, some of which make sense. The most impactful one he conceives is that perhaps this did come from their leader's mind, had been an objective the entire time, and Soundwave finally retrieved what he needed from Starscream. The seeker doesn't know what the spy is capable of. For all he can imagine, Soundwave frolicked around inside his head while he was in recharge, pulling his less-than-honest activities and memories and inclinations out of his processor. He would have no way of knowing whether or not it happened.

Starscream is panicking, and worse than that, he is _causing_ the panicking with outlandish supposition. Still, it won't subside until he stops dwelling on it obsessively. And Starscream won't because he doesn't want to.

Neither does he maintain his anger. Anger is something he can handle, and plan with, and use to his advantage; hurt, on the other hand, is not. Naturally, the anger prevails, expressed in rageful thoughts and casual, clawing swipes at the space on his wall designated for casual claw-swiping.

What a _coward_ , he thinks caustically, and if he were thinking out loud, the words would be biting. Soundwave maintains all the leverage he wants when they're engaged in their damn agreement, and runs, _runs_ the second Starscream decides to instigate. The seeker scowls, ire burning as a red streak in his processor, in his EM field. Soundwave has had enough time to play dominant, and now that he's chosen to leave their little agreement on the backburner, Starscream decides that the spy will become very well-acquainted with his aggression.

He does not intend to let the mech _get off_ that easily, in either connotation the phrase has.

Speaking of getting off.

Heat that's been welling in his chassis swiftly dives, now resting (ha! _resting_ ) underneath his interface panel. Starscream growls; it feels like his plating is slowly liquefying. He curses it with more venom than he curses even Megatron, because it makes him desperate for relief. Times when he can't find relief are awful, alone in the misery that is the sweltering end of a heat cycle. There aren't even any other seekers on board anymore to comprehend what he has to go through.

He doesn't even think to stop himself. Fueling the arousal is the only way to purge it from his systems. And while he's full of spite and malice at Soundwave's absence, feeling mildly neglected here, Starscream is well-versed in suiting his own needs. That's what he's done for vorns, isn't it?

It's always been an option to have his own digits roam in self-appreciation (as they're doing now). To ignore other pursuits in favour of his new aspiration or project. Talk to himself. Take the gap between him and the rest of them, stretch it that much further. Independence. Solitary, solo. Distanced. Lonely. (But it works, he snaps mentally, it always has. He's fine.)

The seeker bucks against his fingers, throwing his helm back. He's never done this with his mind on more than release before. Overload, overload only. He doesn't pretend to feel a hot mouth against his wings (Primus, that's a thought), doesn't imagine a perfect, thin spike sending the charge over his nodes instead of his hand.

Starscream doesn't make believe there's a low-pitched, almost synthesized voice encouraging him in his audial, or that longer, thinner digits than his curl around his spike and deliver more bliss. And when overload tears through his spark, rippling through his frame with static electricity, he most certainly does not breathe anyone's designation.

If he does, if he does any of it, he denies it. 

\- - - - -

Soundwave is dismayed that his bond with his cassette has become a taut string of edginess, but continues to insist (more straightforwardly now) that Laserbeak should pay attention to her directives. He doesn't think it's entirely fair that she gets mad at him for that, but she has her own feelings and he wouldn't dare contest them.

He does not deny that he has been escaping contact with Starscream at every plausible opportunity for probably three solar cycles. The spy has synced the tracking program for the Nemesis with his own drives; has personally computed his own 'Starscream alarm'. There are potential problems, certainly - anyone with his clearance or higher is entitled to the knowledge of what he's doing. He isn't concerned because Megatron would have no interest in tracking at this point (the main operatives right now are collecting resources and, soon, retrieving the Harbinger's contents). And Starscream likely already suspects he is avoiding. The seeker couldn't do very much with the information.

Soundwave leans against the rising edge of the ship that extends as a sort of wall on the flight deck. Starscream is on a lower level of the Nemesis. He would have ample time to move somewhere else should the seeker head here. Laserbeak is somewhere on the surface, evading him in the same way he is evading the Air Commander. Soundwave does not have the spark to chide her for it (it would be hypocritical anyway).

Despite the spat he has unintentionally created, Soundwave is impressed at the air of normality Starscream is able to project. Thus far, Megatron (and others, but primarily Megatron) has not made any remarks. And he would expect there to be a few, based on past events, if their leader noted a change in Starscream's behaviour. It is something of a relief. At least the seeker does not see fit to pressure him via authority.

He gets another comm notification from Starscream and responds.

_:: The time frame for our departure has been set by our liege. Two solar cycles; inform Airachnid that we leave early. ::_

Starscream sounds unusually mellowed, but Soundwave answers quickly. He's not about to push his luck.

_:: Affirmative. ::_

\- - - - -

Airachnid is up to nothing that bodes well. That much, Megatron is certain of. She blatantly lies to him - no, of course she doesn't know what kind of experimental weapon the Harbinger was carrying, of course she would tell him if she did, _his aft_. The femme appears to believe in his gullibility, given that he keeps Starscream around, but she neglects to remember that she isn't Starscream. Thus far, her attachment to the Decepticons has been solely for her own gain, and he will not put trust in that.

He doesn't have total faith in his second, either, but at least Starscream joined for a reason he does trust.

It is Airachnid's nonchalant scheming that puts him on edge. He is well aware of something uncharacteristically hostile going on between his second and third - it needs to be resolved, in part or in whole, before two solar cycles pass. Before he even thinks of letting the spider "lead" them to a weapon with powerful potential.

Megatron has no doubts that Soundwave and Starscream would prevail over the femme should she try anything, Soundwave especially. (For Primus' sake, he can _still_ remember the beating he took back in the arena. That one defeat in the ring.) The downgrade to a slighter frame does not lessen the threat that the Communications Officer would pose to someone like Airachnid - increases it, even.

Distractions, however, are not to be taken lightly. He keeps tabs on the situation. Soundwave has routed the entire tracking system of the Nemesis into his own drives (Megatron half expects to find no trace of this, but the TIC evidently did not see the need to hide it from either him or Starscream). Avoiding, then. He'll have to do something about that.

A ping over a private link delivers an encrypted comm notification. Megatron identifies the source as Laserbeak, and peruses the information. It is an input disruption algorithm targeting the connections Soundwave has made to the tracking system. Hmm. The leader of the Decepticons sends his acceptance and commendation back to the cassette, along with a suggestion to keep him closely updated on the statuses of both Soundwave and Starscream. Laserbeak immediately promises her cooperation.

Megatron wastes no time in uploading the sequence. Soundwave will remain unaware that the tracking system he is monitoring personally is not synced with the mainframe.

After a few kliks of contemplation, he summons Laserbeak to his presence. They have matters to discuss.

\- - - - -

"But how are we going to manage _that_?"

Airachnid keeps a perfectly still hold on the ceiling, crouching as is necessary. They can't see her with how the layout of med bay slopes. The CMO and his assistant comprise the better chance of gleaning information. She's attempted some suggestive small talk with Soundwave on the bridge, just after he informed her of their departure in two solar cycles, and got the unmistakeable aura of 'not-listening'. Starscream dismissed her before she could even contemplate hitting a nerve or two; the seeker is incredibly focused on his job as of the present.

She doesn't have anything better to do than idly eavesdrop on gossip, anyway. Megatron may have allowed her to accompany his second and third in command for the upcoming Harbinger expedition, but she's still been assigned to archiving. It's every bit as frustrating as Starscream's apparent ranting would imply.

"I'm managing the comm links for it, remember?"

"Breakdown, if they can't communicate with base, this is not foolproof."

"They'd still be able to communicate with _me_. I figured this out with the Vehicons. If you put a breaker in the coding that connects to base - right there, that command - "

Airachnid can't see, but she assumes Breakdown is demonstrating where the breaker is - 

"It doesn't disrupt contact with base. It just blocks contact with individuals. So if that breaker is in place, and we add this - "

"Where did you get that?" Knock Out asks disbelievingly. Airachnid fights a scowl; they aren't mentioning what 'it' is.

"Laserbeak."

"Primus damn it, this _is_ a good one," Knock Out huffs. "And if you're monitoring main-base when they're out there, the only person they'll be notifying of the malfunction - "

Airachnid pauses and wonders if she's not the only one intent on sabotaging the Decepticons. If Knock Out and Breakdown are, she has severely underestimated their planning abilities. They just seem so inconspicuous, fulfilling all their required jobs and occasionally complaining and standing around _chatting_ in the med bay. What an absolutely brilliant cover.

"Won't care," Breakdown finishes. "Laserbeak coded anonymously, too, so we're covered on that end."

"They're going to be mad that they can only talk to each other remotely," the medic snickers. "Wait until Starscream comes in here screeching about it."

"At least it's something new."

"Speaking of new - alright, I'll give this one points for creativity - but you heard his excuse to get Soundwave out of a meeting, didn't you?"

"No. How long ago?"

"Eh, a solar cycle before the current spat, I _think_ , don't hold me to it. He told Megatron there was a glitch in archiving that was listing every external contact as _Optimus Prime_."

"And got away with it?"

"Not sure it flew completely over Meg's head, but eh. Got Soundwave out of the meeting like he wanted. Needed 'input.'"

Breakdown snorts. "I don't think fixing a glitch is the kind of input he wanted."

 _Oh. Oh-ho._ She sees what this is about. A bit hard to believe, but then if any mech is capable of getting the icy Soundwave's attention, she supposes it would be Starscream. And the seeker's anger stemming from a lovers' dispute - oh, too funny. _Too funny_. 

The spider carefully removes herself from her hiding position, heading in the direction from which she came. Staking out the med bay has been unexpectedly productive. She has several ideas now, all of which surge in beautiful malicious intent through her processor. If their contact with individuals can be blocked through mere coding, it shouldn't be hard to raise the bar to blocking emergency main base communications. Not if all she needs is Laserbeak to do it.

On an even brighter note, she has ammunition for when she does turn on the two. Taunting ammunition. Getting a rise out of either, or both, is an appetizing prospect.

\- - - - -

 _Caught. You're caught,_ Soundwave's processor screams. The seeker has sight of him, and not even an inkling of surprise registers on the mech's faceplates. Starscream stalks determinedly in his direction, and the spy holds still. 

_Why didn't the tracking system alert him?_

He knows when to cut his losses. There's not a chance in the world he can escape Starscream this time - even if he were to transform and fly, the seeker is faster, and knows it.

They lock optics, a mildly uncomfortable thing, although Soundwave knows Starscream can't actually see past his visor. The seeker narrows his, distastefully scanning the spy from helm, to pede, and back up again. Starscream's wings hike up high and close together as he bares his denta and grabs Soundwave's arm, nearly puncturing the appendage with his grip. 

"Objective: follow," Starscream hisses, not so much mocking his speech pattern as giving him a very clear order, with no room for leeway. He is violently dragged forward, and Soundwave can do nothing except cooperate. Either he appears to follow willingly, or the entire army watches their CCO be forcefully pulled around the Nemesis by an angry Starscream. He can't afford the latter (neither can Starscream, but he doesn't think the seeker cares).

The spy tries to slow his sparkpulse down. He doesn't know what Starscream plans on doing, can't even get a glimpse of it. The mech's EM field is so withdrawn that if he prods at it, the seeker will know. He isn't sure if he's capable of interacting coherently with Starscream - oh, Primus, his vocal components aren't going to work. He's going to degenerate into clicking if he has to talk, he knows it. Clicking or the damned stuttering glitch - he doesn't know which of the two is worse - 

Scrap. Scrap, slag, frag, frag everything, they're headed for Starscream's quarters, and the hall is empty and maybe he should just shut down manually - no, then he'll be in the med bay for rebooting and Starscream will be even _more_ angry and _frag_ -

Starscream shoves him in, sealing the door behind them and pressing a few keys on the locking pad. He knows what that means. His clearance isn't enough to get out. And opening a groundbridge would be useless; he couldn't close it fast enough to keep the seeker from following. If it's possible, he panics even more. Soundwave knows his EM field radiates nothing, absolutely nothing - not so long as he keeps tight hold on it. Starscream can't see him panicking. Can't feel it, either.

For some reason, that is _not_ reassuring.

"You idiot," Starscream spits at him, striking out at the wall of his quarters and leaving four stripes on the metal. "What did you think running from me would accomplish? What a demonstration of bravery."

The seeker moves closer. Soundwave can feel energon singing through his helm. No, it wasn't courageous. If it were up to him he'd be fleeing right now. Starscream doesn't understand. He can't _do_ this. The spy can project the detached, cold shell of a mech all he likes, but it won't bring him any closer to being that mech. He wishes he'd never acted on his emotions - and then Starscream's wings twitch in frustration, and he takes the wish back.

Why does this mech have to emote so much? Does Starscream know what he's doing when he does that?

" _Sit,_ " Starscream commands, and the spy almost trips in doing so, the only available space being the berth. The Air Commander is practically vibrating in tension, and after staring at Soundwave for a long moment, the seeker tears into him. Soundwave is nearly glad that Starscream is so occupied with the verbal assault - he's flinched at how heavy Starscream's expanded EM field is, and doesn't want that to be noticed.

"You get to unsettle me all you like, hovering and watching and waiting, but the second _I'm_ the one doing the provoking, you run off like a youngling? I don't _think_ so," Starscream says acidly, each word dripping in venom. "I'd call this off if I didn't think you'll turn around and start it again. So tell me, Soundwave, should I? Should I be the coward that you've been, hmm?"

Soundwave sits motionless. Starscream hasn't missed the tension in his frame, the anxiety in the lithe servos that grip the edge of his berth. The spy's helm doesn't even shift. Starscream takes two more raging steps forward, leering down at the mech, his internal temperature spiking.

"It's incredibly rude of you, doing what you are. Avoiding. All you had to do was say you didn't like that. Wasn't it me, Soundwave? Like _this_?" he taunts, servo pressing at Soundwave's thigh. No response, just warm metal under his hand. Starscream snarls.

"Answer."

 _Click-click-click-click-click -_ the seeker furrows his brow. The clicking comes again, then again, and he realizes it's coming from Soundwave at about the same time the mech loses his tightly wired control. Soundwave's EM field finally holds something other than the void of calm it usually contains. It's embarrassment, plainly and simply, soaking through everything.

"...Negat-t-t-t-"- Soundwave abruptly stops, helm dipping until he tries again. "Negat-t-t-"

Frag. Shame floods the spy at it - Primus, he knew he was going to do that. He knew it. Starscream huffs at him, stepping back, still angry but not as severely. It doesn't help with the humiliation - the first person he actually talks to in the longest time, and he _clicks_. He could take a stab at his own processor core for that. 

Starscream doesn't have the patience to be confused by Soundwave's answer. Whatever the mech was avoiding him for is inconsequential now; he's going to get the same treatment regardless of his reasons. Soundwave is going to earn the privilege of sharing his berth, through whatever way Starscream sees fit, and they both damn well know it. The seeker steps closer again.

"Retract the visor," he demands, glaring. That gets Soundwave's attention - the spy's helm shoots up indignantly. Starscream suppresses bitter laughter at it. As _if_. Before the mech can even react, Starscream's claws press in a deceptively light way against his neck cabling. Starscream sets his jaw. His optics shutter closed.

"I'm not you," Starscream bites out, "I'm holding out on my end. I don't want to see your face. Retract the visor." So maybe he lies - maybe he does want to see Soundwave's face, just not now. His goal is to remind Soundwave exactly where they stand in the chain of command, and considering the circumstance is perfect for it, get a good frag in the process.

He hears Soundwave oblige the request (not that there was another option; he'd have gotten the visor out of the way by one method or another). The servo on Soundwave's neck goes quickly from being a threat to tugging. The spy's optics close as Starscream attacks his mouth - and he fights to establish control. The seeker thinks this is professional, this kind of arrangement, and if it continues - Primus, if Soundwave tastes the mech for one more klik - he won't be able to dig himself out of this hole.

He won't be able to _let go_.

So the spy fights the kiss, shutting down the avenues of access that Starscream is trying to find. Fourteen nanokliks later, Starscream wins (he's counting until his glossa can sneak past the threshold of Soundwave's dermas). And then he can feel Soundwave acquiesce, dermas parting for more. Begging for more. And he gives more, wings fanning wide, as domineering as he is eager.

The craving is less relevant to yesterday's ended heat cycle than to his personal desire - which is to punish. Starscream is angry, angry that he was left to his own devices for the latter end of this heat cycle, angry that Soundwave has been dodging him left and right, angry that it bothers him so much. And he's downright libidinous. The lust and the anger easily cooperate.

Hmm. He hasn't been rough yet, not really. Starscream thinks it will suffice as satisfying payback.

The seeker pushes the mech back on the berth, spinal plating against the wall (thank Primus they didn't start this in the middle of the room; he can't see). He places his legs on either side of Soundwave's hips, straddling him. He tilts the spy's helm with his servo, nipping at Soundwave's dermas, invading the mech's mouth with his own.

The upper hand feels good. It feels even better knowing that no one else is allowed to do this.

The seeker's servo slips between them to Soundwave's panel, scraping harshly for retraction. The spy obeys the silent command to open his panel, then the next one to retract his spike cover. Starscream deliberately presses the tips of his claws into the ridges on Soundwave's length. Soundwave blows out an exvent and tries to lap at the seeker's chassis, the mech's other servo keeping its hold on his helm.

Starscream huffs at the give-for-give attempt and pulls Soundwave's helm backwards again. He leans down, smashes their dermas in a biting kiss as he grinds against the spy. His valve clenches impatiently. He is in no mood to deprive himself or wait or give Soundwave any consideration. Starscream is quick to settle down over him, finding pace effortlessly.

The seeker brings his hips down, hard enough that the sound of pelvic plating crashing together vibrates through them. And he does it again, and again, and again, works his digits into seldom-touched places in Soundwave's chassis, alternates between leaving searing open-mouthed kisses and sharp bites on the spy's neck. Soundwave's servos have his thighs in a death grip, just shy of denting the metal there (that's the last thing he needs, marks on his hips or legs again). He bites harder in retaliation and hears Soundwave gasp.

The spy's ventilations stop as he digs into where Soundwave houses his extra appendages, and proceeds to play in the area when he realizes how reactive it is. The mech thrusts up into him; Starscream hisses and stops being nice with his servo, using one digit to scratch the sensitive spot. It's not meant to be pleasure-pain; he intends for it to hurt. He's punishing. This isn't for Soundwave's enjoyment, it's for his. Soundwave owes him this much. Four whole fragging solar cycles of enduring heat all by himself, and he deserves this much.

Soundwave's vocalizer fritzes before he can curb the noise, and he holds his hips still. His chassis twitches minutely. It stings just enough for the seeker to have his way. Starscream is attractive, submissive or not; Soundwave _wants_ the seeker. The intensity of the want hurts as it tears through him. Whatever it is he's feeling, is not a feeling that Starscream reciprocates.

The obedience motivates Starscream to be more attentive (it has absolutely nothing to do with the delicious, clicking falter of Soundwave's voice). He traces glyph patterns instead of scratching, getting a desperate moan out of it. Soundwave's servo flutters over where they join, pausing to see if he's allowed. Starscream isn't sure what he's aiming for. Still, seeing as it's likely to bring him closer to overload, whatever it is - 

" _Yes_."

The spy's fingers head straight for his spike housing, stroking in gentle contrast to the slam of Starscream's hips upon his. Lubricant spatters over both of their thighs. Starscream nearly opens his optics at it, but restricts the excitement to unsheathing his spike instead. He breaks away from Soundwave's neck, bracing himself against broad shoulder plating, and sends the spy deeper into his valve.

Soundwave has stopped trying to keep his fretting vocals quiet. His vocalizer audibly hitches and clicks, and between the stuttering that should be Starscream's designation and the low, broken murmurs, he curls a servo around Starscream.

Pleasure blooms in a wave through Starscream's field enough to assuage the anger for a moment. Of course it comes back, of course Starscream is not showing him any mercy - but Soundwave touches the mech in places he knows feel the best, providing friction every time Starscream lifts his hips. The seeker's valve is impossibly constricting, calipers already clamping. They're both close. So close. He owes the mech this much. (He's sorry. He didn't mean to make this big a mess.)

Starscream keeps as steady and rough a pace as he can as overload rises, optics clenched shut. The mech protests nothing, leaning in to the treatment, unassertively waiting until Starscream can answer before leaving ghosts of kisses on exposed neck cables.

Soundwave caresses him in deliberate circles, spike hilting against pulsating nodes one last time before Starscream hits white-hot, shrieking overload and takes Soundwave with him. The spy buries his face in Starscream's neck, hips twitching. Transfluid runs over his fingers, same as it spills from the seeker's spasming valve. All he can concentrate on is Starscream's heaving intakes, the sharp servos in his plating clinging for dear life.

The seeker expects it to be fulfillment - ahem, punishment - enough, but somewhere amidst the pleasure-filled haze is an ache that cuts through every ounce of feel-good once he notes its presence. It rips at his chassis and sends command after command for him to manually shut down - 

function forgeBond () {

_//function sendRequest ();_

_//int. test = Acknowledge_ {

 _//if test == Acknowledge_ {

_//continue ();_

}else{

 _//if test != Acknowledge_ {

_//repeat ();_

_//function chamberOpen_

}

function forgeBond ();

function forgeBond ();

After the fourth time, the requests stop being sent, but the ache is still there. Starscream pulls himself away from Soundwave, ignores the silent questions that come his way. "Visor. Now."

The _shiiik_ assures him that Soundwave has the visor back in back. The seeker opens his optics with purpose, makes his way to a shelving unit and grabs cleaning cloths. He shoves one into Soundwave's servo and removes all traces of what they've done from his own frame with the microfiber.

The spy is concerned as Starscream rushes from him, unable to get the seeker's field to divulge anything despite the curious pulses he sends through his own. He acknowledges the unspoken command to use the cloth and does so efficiently. He is not prepared for Starscream to drag him up by his arm again, but he does not protest this.

Starscream unlocks the door. "I will contact you again when necessary."

Soundwave is still trying to collect himself before he is haphazardly - and not without difficulty on the seeker's part - driven into the still-empty hallway. The entry to Starscream's quarters closes and locks behind him. He does not so much as get to turn around and see the seeker before he's gone, so he stands for a klik or two, viewing the stretch of corridor before him but listening to any sound of movement behind him.

There is none.

Sudden dejection springs upon him - what _was_ that? So many things went wrong; his vocalizer, his anxiety, Starscream's anger and now, whatever happened just now, was definitely something gone wrong. Soundwave knows there is no chance of moving past this anymore. He cares too much, is worrying about Starscream's well-being even as he chides himself for caring.

And isn't that how it always works? The things he cares about are the ones that crumble and slip through his servos.

He bridges back to the command center. Aiding and abetting the melancholy is not happening. He'll exhaust himself before he lets himself stand in his quarters, listless and depressed. He's never letting that happen again. He has his cassette to consider. This is not a pain they can share, not like the last time.

Starscream's servo shakes against his chassis as he steadies his ventilations, sitting curled against his wall instead of on his berth. He sends the command to open his spark chamber, guessing relief will come when he does, and guesses wrong. The seeker watches the light that lays under his chestplates throb painfully, knows exactly what it pulses outward for.

He hears the groundbridge outside his door and then lets go of the clamp on his field, radiating anger. His heat cycle is _over_.

And yet his programming persists. He's claimed Soundwave, whether he likes it or not. Starscream's wings fall, and he closes his spark chamber, doing his best to ignore the dissent from his frame. He knows that there are ways to prevent programs from sending requests like that, and that it only takes a trip to the med bay to tell his frame he doesn't want to forge a bond.

It doesn't make him any less reluctant. He sits against the wall for another few kliks.

\- - - - -

Laserbeak is mildly proud of herself. She has _planned_ something, one of very few directives she has ever established by herself, has come into contact with potential assistance, and is both benefitting and getting back at her creator simultaneously.

Her first order of operations was to avoid Soundwave, as much as it pained her - likely, as he was playing the same game, he would not take disciplinary action. Laserbeak assumes correctly (internally congratulating herself that this is the second time in a row she's been right; perhaps she's as naturally exact as Soundwave is).

Flying in circles over Jasper is boring and repetitive, but it gives her ample time to configure the coding that will disconnect her creator from the mainframe tracking unit. And the coding that will establish a comm link between Soundwave and Starscream, exclusively.

And being a surveillance drone is quite useful, really - she sees Megatron keeping close watch on her creator, sees Breakdown and a few Vehicons experimenting with system breakers. She gambles, and is correct a third time as Megatron uploads her disabling string of code into the main console. She will inform him of any and all developments as promised; they have an agreement that she will be a hidden eye on the Harbinger's excursion team. Should the Autobots or Airachnid interfere, Megatron will be well aware. 

Once it's proven that the code works - Laserbeak is back on the Nemesis, while her creator believes her to be traversing Earth's airspace - she continues to send Starscream notifications of where Soundwave is. She does this through the prioritized comm system for Armada use (conveniently anonymous if one masks their comm signature).

Breakdown is happy to receive her specified code, and she is elated at the prospect of more people on her side. Apparently she has not been alone in the desire to meddle (not in a bad way, merely a push in the right direction).

The cassette pushes down the instinctual feeling that something is amiss. It's not conducive to her goal if she's negative about the results.

She's about to go through a rough section on her perimeter watch (this time she's going to actually fulfill the directive Soundwave has given her; Laserbeak doubts that she can deliver another repeat without incident). It doesn't bother her as much as it should - just a communications flux that always happens around the left side of the Nemesis, coincidentally near the weapons vault. Her creator has been at a loss as to why it does that for the longest time.

Warning signals that her course has been impeded pop up on her HUD as soon as she nears the exit of the zone. She feels the tug as she increases the power to her propulsion system, but can't break free from it. Experimentally, Laserbeak uses a tentacle to send electrical zaps into the obstacle - she can't see it, it's out of her peripheral range - but the tentacle suddenly cannot retract.

She understands what the implications of this are, and flares her EM field in anger as she's pulled into one of the ship's outer alcoves. Small, sharp servos rest over her wings, and she flicks them in a hostile manner. The spider femme laughs.

"Don't be afraid," Airachnid says mockingly.

She'd like to show the insect exactly how _afraid_ she is, but that would require more leverage than she has at this point. Laserbeak already knows she cannot contact her creator - the dampened area is, regrettably, the best place for Airachnid to have chosen. The cassette does not doubt that she knows it, too. What the spider does not know, on the other hand - Laserbeak is counting the nanokliks until the femme explains why it was necessary to snatch her out of the air, and the cassette will most definitely be feeding the information to Megatron.

"I just need you for a little coding, hmm? I heard you can do wondrous things. I mean, Breakdown has managed to find a way to cut communications between individuals, and that's just...him. You, my dear, are much more experienced, aren't you?"

Airachnid gets a series of low, annoyed clicks in return. She grins.

Laserbeak thinks twice about listening to that instinctual feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I kind of want to apologise for the slow crawl of this piece but everything's going to blow up soon, sooooo...enjoy it while you can? Before the really tough angst hits?)
> 
> So um, if you'd like to leave a review, that would be absolutely darling of you. Honestly, they make my day. I'll reply, cross my heart and hope to die. (lol not really, that wouldn't be fun now would it) See you when I have, like, six thousand more words to put you through! (Expel this sin from my body.)


	6. Your Mind Is Not Your Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I meant to have this up earlier, but I had less time than anticipated. Anyways, the word of the day is alliteration. I read through this and realized there is a heck of a lot of alliteration. OH. Also, I got mad, because I listened to "Crush" by David Archuleta (man, flashback, huh) and _I thought of this fic. That is not the inspiration song for this fic. Frag you, David._ Enjoy? (I hope.)

Knock Out knows when to keep his mouth shut; he just doesn't exercise this knowledge very often. The Aston Martin shouldn't make wisecracks about Megatron, or purposely jab at Starscream, or use the Autobots as testers for new puns. He shouldn't, but he wants to do that despite the ramifications. So he does.

This time he makes an exception and tones down some of the sass (some, key word _some_ ) as Starscream walks into the med bay - yes, that's right, _walks_ , no stomping or stalking involved. The seeker gives him few to no details, but says, firmly, that an ending heat cycle has triggered system requests to forge a bond. (Knock Out doesn't hold the concealment against him because it's likely in Starscream's best interests. Everything is going to be passed on to Breakdown sometime, and he can't control where it goes from there.) As far as the medic is concerned, that hasn't happened before; Starscream insists it has and it's not usually a troubling circumstance.

The requests are for manual validation, but Starscream claims to be annoyed with declining all of them. It sounds rehearsed. Knock Out attempts (once) to get more information - the seeker does not say how or even when the requests began, only mentions that he'd like them to stop appearing in the corner of his HUD. The medic doesn't pry further (best to count your blessings, eh?). Knock Out isn't a fan of circuit work, but he can block the code transcript, no problem.

"Alright, you're set. Your frame's not going to be sending you any more bond requests. Unless you're actually telling your spark chamber to open," he drawls, heading for the holding bay, seemingly disinterested. The Air Commander moves to leave as quickly as he came in.

Shame, really. Starscream vents to them, but doesn't confide - well, if he weren't so antagonistic, maybe they'd be better suited to the term 'friends'. It's not his fault that all the seeker does is seethe. Speaking of seething, Starscream is very subdued today. Knock Out casts him a glance before he disappears completely; oh-ho, it makes sense all right, there's no 'strange' about it. Does Starscream realize how many scrapes he's walking around with? He mentally shakes a finger at the seeker.

And Knock Out just knows Soundwave had something to do with those.

He wonders if there's also a connection to Starscream's impromptu, actually-related-to-medical-treatment appearance there. And where is Breakdown? He has two objectives - one, yell at the mech (oh, he knows why ST-3V3 is in the holding bay) and two, share the findings.

\- - - - -

Soundwave sends a ping of notification to his cassette, mildly irked that she does not respond, as he has an important reason to speak to her. He will allow her the option of ignoring him for now - and when she is finished with her directive, they will exchange words. The spy has decided it would be better to put her nerves at ease by explaining than continue telling her nothing is amiss.

It's not fair to her; he's not above feeling guilty for how much he's done that lately. Not to mention the irrationality of getting upset with her for asking about it.

He's working with more effort than usual, though not as exhaustively as he applied himself toward the end of the last solar cycle. Soundwave has sufficiently calmed down - of course the doubts linger (he never has been able to escape them, has he?) but he convinces himself that Starscream was only irate for the avoidance, not rejecting him for some inadequacy on his part. (Jumping to conclusions doesn't do any good, he isn't about to start doing that now).

If this is the case, the spy is grateful that nothing else happened. He supposes he hasn't been fair to anyone, really. Starscream has every right to be mad. 

And yet Starscream presently has an air about him that is distinctly _not_ normal. It is not mad - that's easy to pinpoint, Starscream practically radiates rage when he's angry - and it does not convey forgiveness, either. The seeker is coy, briefly using the console next to him and chatting as he does, keeping his tone light. It's awfully confusing.

Soundwave hates it, he truly does - one thing the seeker never fails to impart. Confusion. He is severely unsettled by the sudden shift in Starscream's mood. And while it makes the spy feel mildly better about the standings between them, the mech's casual conversing is not helping his nerves or his work performance. Whether Starscream is aware of it or not, his wings are very, very distracting.

Personally, Soundwave thinks he does it on purpose.

"I don't suppose I should lower my expectations - after all, the Eradicons didn't exactly attend the Flight Academy, did they," Starscream sighs. The bridge is almost a suspicious degree of empty, save for a few Vehicons.

 _Good._ The lack of prying eyes gives him a little more space to interact with Soundwave. (That's all he wants to do, is chat some. He's not trying to make up for last solar cycle. He _isn't_.)

"Easily corrected with a few more demonstrations, I guess. What has you so busy? We leave in a few groons - it's not a system error - or something majorly problematic, is it?"

Starscream is reaching and he knows it, but if it works, what does he care (besides his processor telling him he's pathetic)? Soundwave's visor faces him for a few nanokliks before the mech shifts to make more space at the console. The seeker doesn't question and certainly doesn't complain. He's being offered a closer look. He makes sure to keep his optics on the display and not on Soundwave's adjacent presence. It's a difficult task; this close, Soundwave is pleasantly warm.

Okay, so he's semi-penitent for the other night, but it's a self-serving kind of penitent. Starscream will still admit to hating a cold berth. Conveniently, the heating problem in the wing where his quarters are located is never sufficiently addressed. No amount of complaining is going to make _that_ a priority.

He fidgets and fights the urge to lean toward his right. (Primus, but would it be that awkward if he indulged in a little contact? Starscream thinks he might be able to get away with it, but doesn't act.)

"Military interference, then," he infers from the government insignias and strings of fast-moving code. Starscream tilts his helm towards the spy, and grins. "I'll let you finish here, though I doubt it will take long. Human programming must be elementary to such an experienced hacker."

His servo finds Soundwave's lower arm, optics meeting the visor. He turns to leave, swiftly stalking out of the command center (he swears on his life it's absolutely not fleeing).

Wow. He could impale himself for that one. Starscream can feel heat stirring in his faceplates and ruthlessly dampens it. _Experienced hacker_ \- Primus, he probably sounded so coquettish. The seeker's wings flick in agitation. He honestly didn't mean to say it like that. He didn't mean to touch Soundwave either. Frag. That must have seemed weird. Soundwave is probably appalled, or at the very least disturbed. Starscream knows he has no right to act so inviting after the stunt he pulled last night. But he...he wants to.

No, he doesn't. Soundwave is a good frag, and that is all.

His internal clock informs him that exactly three groons are left before the Harbinger expedition. It's enough time for a flight and then refuel; the seeker needs to clear his mind if he wants to convince anyone that everything is fine (including himself). Flying does so much in that respect, especially flying alone - the only company he has are the thoughts in his processor, and they usually consist of _how fast can you really go around this curve_ and _where is the next high current_. Starscream heads for the flight deck, shaking off embarrassment. He'll be in normal condition in no time.

Soundwave works just a little faster following the brief encounter, determined on getting back to his reading material. He intends to implement it sooner than later, after that approach. His processor screams at him for his useless intake of knowledge on seekers.

\- - - - -

Laserbeak has to begrudgingly admire Airachnid's ability to plot. The spider femme binds her blasters and the housing for her feelers with web, until it is certain that Laserbeak cannot use either, and carts her into the weapons vault. Airachnid is careful not to pass the boundaries of the flux zone, and is also careful to avoid suspicion - they run into K3V-1N on guard duty, but the spider acts as though her hold on the cassette is a friendly one.

Laserbeak makes one attempt to angrily flit her wings, chirring, yet Airachnid cooes and dances feather-light touches over them. Very, very friendly. K3V-1N is satisfied with this, perhaps a little curious as to why the spider is even allowed to touch the flier. He gives them free access to the vault anyway (Airachnid's clearance is certainly high enough). Laserbeak knows a warning when she gets one - the singular claw that digs in with Airachnid's innocent, petting gesture is warning enough to make her relent.

"No tricks. We wouldn't want Soundwave finding the scraps of his precious drone, would we?" Airachnid verbally confirms the warning as Laserbeak plugs in to the console.

She can't chance hiding anything in the code Airachnid wants her to transcribe - it would risk her safety and the safety of others, including her creator. The code itself is dangerous, and she cringes as horror swells at what she has to do. Airachnid is having her set up a communications blockade. Neither Soundwave nor Starscream will be able to reach the command center through their comm units once they have left the Nemesis.

This was never her intention - Laserbeak is distressed that her ciphering skills are being used this way. She just wanted her creator to be happy, and this could _kill_ him. She cannot comm the spider in the flux zone, so she displays a blatant message on the screen of the console as Airachnid watches her data input.

The femme rolls her optics, or has the appearance of doing so, at the threat if she should harm Laserbeak's creator. Her plan is nearly flawless, this is true - but the cassette has that plan's largest fault in mind. Airachnid knows little to nothing about the mechs on this ship. She's been absent for most of the war. _And if you want to cross,_ Laserbeak thinks, _you had best know_ exactly _who you're crossing_. 

"I'm not making promises, bitlet. Perhaps if he doesn't get in the way, but Soundwave would be a satisfying trophy, you know."

Airachnid picks her up again as she detaches from the console. Laserbeak broadcasts her disgust and her anger, hoping the sheer force of it is enough for the spider to feel. If Airachnid can, she doesn't mention it. Instead, the spider heads for a spare energon storage room with Laserbeak in tow.

The cassette is equal parts anxious and bitter. She is torn between wanting to fly away or shoot the spider (preferably in the face, it's the least dignified place where anyone could take a blaster hit and Airachnid deserves to have her dignity stripped away for this). She can do neither, settling for low, agitated whirring sounds instead. As the door closes behind them, the spider laughs at her - Primus, Laserbeak _hates_ Airachnid, she hopes Soundwave gets the chance to rip her head off like one of the combatants in the arena. The rage she feels is unparalleled now. It conquers any residual fear - no one laughs at her.

"Killing you would raise too much hell, Laserbeak," Airachnid drawls, "and yet, I can't have you interfering."

\- - - - -

Starscream is bitter about this mission, and it is obvious. Soundwave can tell - not because his EM field proudly announces it, or because of the sarcastic comments he and the spider are exchanging, but in the way he's flying. It's rigid, too structured to be safe for his frame; Starscream is purposely causing excess drag. That is hardly a good idea.

Soundwave improvises. As much as he'd like the seeker's present disposition to improve, he does not want to show partiality around Airachnid. The spy doesn't view the femme as a threat, but she is pernicious by nature and he isn't in a patient mood. If he were to give her something as ammunition, it would only serve to heighten her chances of being dismembered should she try to use it. He'd rather not be caught losing the temper he normally doesn't have.

Perhaps he is frustrated; he does not have a particular desire to be on this mission, as the appealing notion of one-on-one time with Starscream is erased. (Primus, that was not the right way to word that; his goal is _not_ to get himself worked up.) He can't contact Laserbeak, through either their comm links or their bond, which is stressful. He wishes for her to stop ignoring him, soon.

Starscream's displeasure continues to express itself in tight, off-angle flying maneuvers as he catches currents. Soundwave wants to slag him; he's going to stress the joints in his wingtips, and even the spy knows how uncomfortable that is for solar cycles after the fact. But how to get him to stop?

Oh. He has an idea. Presumptuous, yes, he thinks so, but worth a shot. As long as he can manage according to what he's read.

Soundwave is slightly behind the seeker, both travelling at a slower speed as Airachnid "scouts" ahead of them. She is not out of hearing range; talking is out of the question. He quietly pulls to the forefront of Starscream, avoiding attention from the helicopter in the lead, and before the jet can make any remarks about it, Soundwave dips a wing. The updrift caused by the action sends Starscream into a light tilt.

He's amused, honestly, as Soundwave spins a lazy spiral in front of him, even though it startles him quite a bit. At this point, Starscream doesn't know what he hopes - whether it's for Soundwave to be unaware of what he's doing, or whether it's for the spy to be intentionally and continually following courting protocols. Either way, he responds with a barrel roll, forward and to the left, pulling alongside the UAV drone.

What in the Pits does he think he's going to gain here?

Screw it. Soundwave falls back and up, wing casting a shadow over his, and they twist through the air in a game. Starscream makes sure to keep his banter going with the spider femme lest she become curious otherwise. He complains about the speed every so often as he pushes how close he can get without throwing Soundwave off balance. Wind passes between the two in a rush, being driven through narrower and narrower gaps. And Starscream admits that it sends a different kind of chill over his plating than a tight formation would.

They only stop darting around each other playfully when they reach the coordinates Starscream has shared with Soundwave (Airachnid is not yet privy to those, but she is aware of the rendezvous point). There is a large amount of satisfaction in the spy's field as Starscream transforms and touches down, swiftly followed by Airachnid, who has circled the perimeter. Soundwave lands, feeling accomplished at his success in lifting Starscream's mood.

"Your chosen vehicle mode lacks thrust," Starscream remarks, optics focused on the spider. Still quarrelsome; Soundwave does note that it's more teasing than it is spiteful. He's shocked he can tell the difference; at one point he would categorize them as one and the same tone.

"Are you going to preen, or are we going to start moving," she deadpans.

"We start moving when you reveal what it is we're looking for," the seeker retorts.

"That information is need-to-know. And right now, you don't."

Tsk. Impertinence. Soundwave wonders if Airachnid knows how Megatron handles impertinence. She's certainly lucky that she's using sass with Starscream instead, that's for sure, though he thinks it still does not put her in good standings. Starscream has been here longer than her. She would do well to respect that at the very least.

Soundwave stays out of the ensuing argument, scanning the surroundings. He does not believe anything Airachnid does can be considered trustworthy, meaning he will keep a closer eye than usual on any abnormalities. As the two begin to become more animated in their bickering, Soundwave, having made sure the area is truly secure, approaches them. This is a mission, for crying out loud. Some air of professionality is required - Megatron expects a thorough and efficient search and retrieval. Airachnid turns to him in exasperation, having failed at pulling anything out of Starscream.

"Soundwave, would you _kindly_ share with me the coordinates we are advancing to from here?"

He begins walking at a measured pace, heading away from the two, and parrots back at her after editing the recording's pitch: "That information is need-to-know. And right now, you don't."

Starscream fights the urge to make a face at Airachnid, instead contentedly following Soundwave's lead. Though he doubts Soundwave's intentions were humourous, he finds the astounded expression on the femme's face very, very amusing.

The spider femme reluctantly takes the cue to do the same. It would not do to show any disrespect to Soundwave - Starscream is one thing, but Soundwave outranks her in more than just title. Until she has the means (and oh, so close is she to having the means), she cannot overstep the boundaries. Here and now, she must play inferior - it will be worth the wait.

They find an entrance, where part of the Harbinger rises from the ground; Soundwave widens the avenue of entry with a few precise blasts. Airachnid and Starscream file through first, as Soundwave is insistent on watching the rear. Or, rather, with keeping his optics on the pesky spider. He pries at her EM field, invasion unnoticed as she is preoccupied with finding the experimental weapons technology. There is too much _anticipation,_ for him to suspend his suspicion. What is she waiting for?

"I conducted a very thorough search of this husk years ago," Starscream sighs, as the femme crawls ahead. Soundwave's concern heightens when she approaches the console - _and activates it_ , what does that glitch think she's doing? This is a covert operation! He starts forward, and Starscream voices the same aggravation that the spy is feeling.

"What are you doing?!"

"Accessing the cargo manifest. Or didn't you think to do that during your thorough search?" she bites, fingers flying over the keys. Soundwave's servo clenches - the half-wit, if she does that--

"Idiot," Starscream snaps, mirroring his thoughts exactly, "the ship's systems haven't been activated for eons. The Autobots could detect its energy signature."

Airachnid ignores him, and even ignores Soundwave. He is more on edge now than he was before - she is rushing, and it doesn't seem like it has to do with the potential for Autobot interference. Soundwave's annoyance feeds off of Starscream's, ratcheting to new levels. She peers at the screen as the console pings in response to her search. "Ah. Here it is. Section twenty-three."

"Desist," Soundwave replays, a recording of Megatron during a battle that was heavily in favour of the Autobots. It is a snarl, and if he were to use his own voice, his ire would be about the same. Airachnid has jeopardized their directive. He will not _fail_ his assignment due to errors on behalf of a femme no better than an Insecticon. She has proven that she is just as impulsive as one.

The femme obeys his order, startled. She did not expect Soundwave to react so harshly - then again, she has essentially given the enemy a way of assessing their intent. She has to control the damage and seem very repentant for her mistake. Airachnid lowers her helm, wordlessly offering to scout into the designated section. The spy points ahead, commanding and dismissive, and follows too closely for her liking. She will have to put distance between them somehow before she comes in contact with the weapon she seeks.

Starscream answers the hail for a private comm frequency that comes from Soundwave.

_:: Exercise: caution. Airachnid: scheming. Soundwave: unaware of: intent. ::_

_:: I know she isn't to be trusted, Soundwave, but how can you tell? She wouldn't dare with both of us here. ::_

_:: Ambition: will not be dissuaded. Airachnid: scheming, ::_ Soundwave repeats, avoiding the question of how he knows. Starscream frowns, taking care to show no outward appearance of having a conversation. He follows Soundwave's train of thought - Airachnid might be planning to turn on them, if the object they seek is of any aid. And it _is_ weapons tech, so he assumes it as highly plausible.

"Section twenty-three should be right about...here? The ship just ends..." Airachnid's vocals take on a lamenting tone. "It must have broken in half during the crash."

Starscream snorts. "Or in the _air_. If you performed _actual research_ you would have learned that an Autobot battalion shot the Harbinger out of the sky."

She turns to face them, failing for a brief moment to contain the impatience in her field. Soundwave is on high alert - there are energy signatures moving in on their location, and he would assume they belong to the Autobots. If they do not move, and quickly, they will be outnumbered. Though he is confident in his own fighting ability, he does not like the idea of fighting with uneven odds in close quarters. And should Airachnid choose to betray them - if she already _has_ betrayed them - that puts enemies on both sides.

"How far away is the other half?" the spider demands. Starscream does make a face at her this time, but Soundwave motions in the other direction hastily. The seeker takes this as a hint that they are no longer secure, and so he acquiesces to the third-in-command's suggestion.

"Well, we have to get out of _here_ first, don't we?" Starscream spits. "It's a few kliks north of this half. Through the stone arch."

\- - - - -

"Optimus. Our scanners have detected a Decepticon energy profile. But it's...ancient," Ratchet informs him. Optimus is concerned - the Decepticons have not shown much activity lately besides accumulating energon. If they are making their move, it is bound to be a large one, or one that is part of a larger plan.

"The past has a way of catching up with the present, Ratchet."

They prepare quickly, and he knows it is a better idea to bring too many teammates with him than too few in this case. Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead ready themselves to enter the groundbridge same as he does. Ratchet tests their comm links one last time before they depart, not chancing any possible malfunctions. If a Decepticon energy signature has been picked up, it means they will be facing either Decepticons or a 'con-made weapon, and he refuses to let something go wrong with communications.

The four have time to exit the groundbridge, transform, and take a few steps, noting the telltale spines of a Decepticon ship rising from the ground. Sound alerts them to a hole large enough for someone to fit through; then, the figures of Airachnid, Starscream, and Soundwave emerge, respectively. They train their blasters at the same time as the three notice their arrival.

With the advantages on their side - little cover for the 'cons, the element of surprise, and larger numbers, Arcee makes a run for the spider, dodging two shots of webbing before landing a solid hit to the other femme's abdomen. Their combat is fiercer the longer it continues, and the mechs are keeping Starscream and Soundwave pinned behind some choice stones. This looks like a winning battle, and it motivates her even further to avenge Tailgate now, while they're fortunate.

"We got 'em now, Bee," Bulkhead shouts over the sound of blasters. The rocks are becoming less sizeable with every shot - then Soundwave and Starscream will be in the open. Airachnid manages to evade a forceful jab from the two-wheeler femme, using the opportunity to put Arcee in a chokehold. Optimus sees where he is needed and heads to aid.

If Megatron's two main officers and Airachnid are in the field based on the same directive, it is imperative that they succeed in disrupting the activity.

\- - - - -

 _:: Requesting: backup, ::_ Soundwave comms back to base, getting nothing but static in return. Starscream is frantically trying to do the same, panic rising as their cover slowly decreases in range. The spy sends a wave of calm through his EM field, attempting to stir Starscream's more rational side. Their situation is not a good one - especially since they inexplicably have no communication with the Nemesis - but they need to be able to think.

 _:: What do we do? We can't take to the air. They'll have perfect shots if we do. We can't retreat into the Harbinger, we're at a loss for firepower - Soundwave, we can't hold them off forever. ::_ Starscream is, mysteriously, able to comm Soundwave, which is a greater relief than he lets on. The spy is notoriously collected in circumstances such as this. The seeker can devise a ruthless battle plan, execute dangerous aerial maneuvers - but he is not, and will never be, comfortable fighting on the ground like this.

Soundwave removes himself from cover long enough to see the Prime scaring Airachnid off. The spider is in flight and headed toward the other half of the Harbinger. He twists behind the stone just as a shot from Bumblebee grazes the area he'd been in.

 _:: Airachnid: retrieving: experimental weapon. Soundwave and Starscream: will prevent: Airachnid from obtaining it. ::_ The spy is careful to sound sure of the goal. Starscream's panic may be subsiding to make way for coherent thought, but confidence is still necessary.

The seeker looks at the surrounding avenues of exit. Airachnid managed to fly directly over the Autobots without being hit, but with the blasters of at least three trained on the two of them, there is little chance they will fare the same. He thinks for a moment - it would be a risk, what he suspects they could do, but they could attempt it anyway.

 _:: Vertical takeoff from here might work, then circling out wide. They'll follow us, but we're faster, ::_ Starscream suggests. Soundwave nods from his hiding place, signalling the seeker to lead.

He transforms and uses his thrusters at maximum capacity, rocketing upwards as Soundwave follows, then slows and shoots into a wide curve. The pride at once again proving his air superiority is dampened - he may have avoided the blasts, but Soundwave takes a position to his left and one of the spy's wings is marred by two circular char marks. It is also smoking. They will have to land soon, or the damage will increase in severity.

Thankfully, the stone arch passes beneath them within a klik at the speed they are going, and Starscream drops in altitude to tell Soundwave they should stop here. The ridging of the Harbinger's other half slants against a wall of rock. They make their presence known, a few hundred meters from the imposing form of the grounded wreckage. Airachnid appears, a thin staff that looks much like a stun baton grasped in her hand, pointed directly at them.

Soundwave had a feeling that her alignment with the Decepticons was temporary until she could procure means of working alone. His optics narrow behind his visor at the femme, who, although seeing them, does not change her aggressive stance. And this is not how he truly knows she is diverting from their original objective - the spy is actively monitoring her processor. Distracted minds are his favourite; she is oblivious to the intrusion.

"I wouldn't move, if I were you."

Starscream huffs. "And here I thought I was the backstabber," he says, waving a hand at her. She grins.

"Dethroned now, I'd say. And disgraced. Tch, what will Megatron think? Letting this get into my hands? Especially just after your own betrayal. Perhaps he'll see it fit to terminate you as he intended."

"You knew about that?!" Starscream exclaims, not bothering to control the indignance in his voice. The spider shrugs.

"We talk--ah-ah," she says, directing the staff back at Soundwave, who has been inching forward. Sneaky mech he is, she didn't see it until now. He hasn't gotten much closer, so she assumes it is good that she caught him early on. "You wouldn't want to get any nearer."

His helm tilts as if in sincere contemplation of whether he wants to or not. She throws in extra incentive to get him to challenge her, even skittering down the ship (but making sure she is still at a safe distance) before she does. "Trust me on this, Soundwave. Laserbeak would be so disappointed if she knew it was your refusal to comply that prompted the extinguishing of her spark," she taunts.

Soundwave's vents stall, and Starscream can hear them as they do. Laserbeak. Soundwave can't comm Laserbeak and he can't reach her through the bond - _where is Laserbeak?_ And then he advances, composed and predatory, in Airachnid's direction. She will not threaten his cassette, and if anything has already been done to Laserbeak, the spider will _suffer_ the repercussions.

The weapon fires once, misses the first time due to a graceful dodge on Soundwave's part, but hits home the second. The spy is not quick enough to evade it. Starscream is horrified as Soundwave freezes in place like a captured image.

"The Immobilizer," Airachnid hums, the staff now trained on him, "True to its name. What a pity. Tell me, Starscream, is he so obstinate in the berthroom, too?"

Starscream is reeling, and honestly wishes he could disguise it, but it's too late. The spider femme is already laughing. "What do you mean?" he snarls, determined not to verbally confirm _anything_ she throws at him.

"It's a wonder Megatron didn't catch on to you sooner. You're a terrible liar," she replies, caressing her newfound weapon. Airachnid is exhilarated with its performance - something that can paralyze even Soundwave, what a treat to possess it. Too bad she only gets to see Starscream's reaction to her teasing, she was so hoping to see such a stoic mech's self-control disappear. Starscream isn't a bad second choice, though. He's so expressive that it almost makes up the difference.

"Idiot. Asking a question is not equivalent to lying. Apparently your deductive skills and your alt mode are both lacking 'thrust'," he snips, crossing his arms. If he can't ignore her, and isn't in a position to escape, the spider had better believe he's going to smite her with words. Starscream is creative with his insults.

She only laughs harder. " _You_ certainly aren't lacking any of _that_ , now are you? Oh, don't get me wrong. We are in agreement here as to my deductive skills, Starscream. I had no idea that Megatron's second and third in command were fragging under the table."

He growls - he doesn't appreciate the underhanded twist on his word choice. "Funny, I had no idea, either."

"Don't play innocent; it doesn't suit you. Me, I'm just curious as to what the extent of your little tryst is. Is it a competition?" Airachnid moves in, annoyed at Starscream's disinterest in the conversation and at his denial. She knows gossip is unreliable as a source, but it must have some merit, and she _will_ strike a nerve. The seeker glares at her.

"Hmm. A fling, then? Or is it emotional? My, my, the head of the seeker Armada, sweet on Megatron's drone. Wouldn't that be just exceptional," she snickers.

Starscream waits as she draws closer, opportunity surfacing. He rolls his optics for good measure, though mild displeasure awakens at her calling Soundwave a drone. It's hypocritical displeasure, seeing as he's used the same term, but things are different now. And he doesn't like it coming out of the femme's vocalizer.

"Is that how you get along so very well? Does Soundwave talk to you, Starscream? Does he feel anything at all? Do you like having your little pet, is that it? I could just imagine. The pretty little seeker and his pleasure-bot, doing his bidding."

He strikes then, without warning, slicing open her side. She gawks at him, but has the presence of mind to leap back as her servo clutches the wound. "You slagging--"

"Imagine _that_ ," he hisses, fully prepared to claw her again and again until she is a shredded mass of metal. Starscream does not get the chance; the Immobilizer renders him motionless within nanokliks. Airachnid has had her fill of fun.

The Autobots approach in from the direction of the stone arch - if Airachnid can still hold victory over them, and somehow mask her interactions with Megatron's officers, there is a chance she will be able to slip in and be repaired before her inevitable return to rogue. (And frag Starscream for this, she mentally snaps, since the wound truly hurts.)

\- - - - -

Breakdown is in the energon storage room, forced to organize all four of them for the massive dent he put in ST-3V3. Well, it was more of a joke that Knock Out said to do it, but it still needs to be done at some point. He doesn't mind it too much; this is the smallest room out of the ones there are, so he's starting here. And ST-3V3 deserved that hit anyway; he broke the damn plating drill. They only had a few of those in the first place, and he doesn't know when the medic can get around to building another with all the mining injuries they have coming in.

A sharp clicking noise catches his attention. It comes from behind a fully-stocked shelving unit, which vibrates slightly. Breakdown transforms one servo and uses the other to shove the wheeled unit away from the wall, preparing himself for - actually, he doesn't know what he's preparing for, but it's nothing good.

Even though he's not aware of what he was expecting, this is not it. Laserbeak is plastered (in what looks to be a very uncomfortable manner) to the wall, held securely by layer upon layer of spiderweb. Breakdown scowls as Laserbeak lets out a high-pitched, panicking whirr.

He rips the webbing away from the wall as gently as he can, grabbing the cassette before she can fall to the floor. Airachnid (there is not a doubt that she's the cause of this) did a thorough job of making it near impossible for the flier to move. Web is interlaced through every one of the tiny winglets on Laserbeak, and Breakdown knows he can't just tear it off; it could injure her. He has to take her to the med bay to be extricated from the mess.

The sounds she makes are sad, almost a cry of some kind, but she refrains from comming him. Breakdown realizes the implication of finding her like this - something is wrong.

And seeing as they haven't been notified of any problems with the mission, none at all...

Something is going _terribly_ wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I'm just warning you guys, this is going to go down the hole of feels within the next two chapters, both of which I've started on. Like, it's going to hurt. Please review; reviews make my heart sing! So do wild things, hahaha. Love you guys, as always!


	7. Closer to the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a doozy. And it was very, very hard to write. That being said, Deadpool considerably lifted my spirits (enough to finish this chapter) and I shall now be implementing "Canada" as a curse word. God, I don't think I've ever written this much dialogue in my life. (Hello darkness my old friend)

Arcee gets to Airachnid first. The spider's hold on the weapon she wields is momentarily loosened as the other femme targets the slash in her armour, more energon flying before she can collect her bearings. But the femme's downfall is her mouth; oh, yes, banter is one thing, it's such fun to taunt, too - still, battle is another. Arcee should have known that at the first opportunity her guard was let down, Airachnid would jump at the chance.

"For Tailgate," she says, in a way that makes Airachnid sincerely question which of them will win in the long run (though she won't acknowledge that doubt). In the time it takes for Arcee to honour her deceased partner, the spider is able to reactivate the Immobilizer and leave the other stationary as a statue. 

Stunning her opponent - then the Wrecker, and then the Prime - is more difficult than it should have been. She knows very well that her systems are trying to compensate for the damage Starscream and Arcee have done - but she accomplishes this anyway, even removing the fast-paced scout as a threat. She thinks perhaps Megatron will be more inclined to believe her side of the story if she brought the Autobot team as an offering, to appease the loss of his second and third in command.

She can't expect to be tended to if their report contradicts hers. It would be wiser if she eliminates the threats to her 'dedication' now, while they are helpless.

_My apologies, Laserbeak,_ she drawls mentally, gently digging her disabling weapon into Soundwave's side. Airachnid wonders if he can hear her in this state, and supposes he can, which makes it all the more amusing. The servo she does not hold the weapon in applies continual pressure to her wound, giving her some time to play before she needs immediate repairs.

"Starscream is quite the handful, wouldn't you say, Soundwave? Well," she sighs, smiling at the still form with nothing less than malice, "it's a shame you won't get to see him live up to his designation one last time. I think I'd prefer extinguishing his spark silently."

One of Airachnid's legs draws back as she turns, directs it at the seeker's chest. His expression is fixated as that of rage; she thinks it's fitting for him to meet his end in the weakest of ways, paralyzed and without even his vocalizer. It's fit for a coward. "Ironic, isn't it?" the spider remarks to the motionless spy behind her.

_Crunch._

She whirls around too late. The scout's fist makes smashing contact with her helm, her best defense flying out of her hands. For a brief moment the world spins; she recovers at least her sense of balance in time to see the little bug blast the Immobilizer into pieces.

Airachnid's plan slips from her fingers. She doesn't have a weapon to bring back. She can't fight Bumblebee in this state, meaning she's lost her Autobot captives, and she can't stick around to kill the other two. Still, she has always been resourceful. Neither can contact base if they do recover from their paralysis, and they will most likely become Autobot prisoners. Megatron will be angry about this, but she'll have to be capable of spinning a worthy enough tale.

The spider transforms into her alt mode - not a painless process, and with every rotation of the helicopter blades her wounds pull and burn. Bumblebee gets two strong hits in before she disappears over the edge of the canyon. He hopes it causes lasting damage, and checks his surroundings - two comrades, his leader, two enemies, and none of them moving. The scout carefully salvages the parts the weapon broke into; as the effects don't seem to be wearing off, they may need the weapon itself to reverse them.

And finally, he comms Ratchet for assistance. Getting everyone back into base and fully functioning again is not a job he can complete on his own. The groundbridge opens and the ambulance comes speeding out, aware of the situation.

Bee holds out what he's collected, glad when it transfers into more capable hands. Ratchet appears taken aback by Soundwave and Starscream - oh, right. He forgot about them. Whoops.

_:: They're stuck, too. What do we do with them? ::_

"Optimus can handle that," Ratchet snorts, surveying the damage with a critical eye. It doesn't seem too bad; likely the weapon's systems will function again after he welds the pieces together.

Even though he pretends to be focused on other things, Bumblebee's question provokes more thought. What are they going to do about the two? They don't have the space to accommodate prisoners, or the resources, they certainly _shouldn't_ return them to Megatron, and he doesn't like the idea of leaving them here to be found by either MECH or the opportunistic spider. He hopes Optimus will devise something ingenious; the 'cons have well and truly outdone themselves with this one, putting the Autobots in this kind of predicament.

And why would Megatron send both of his best officers on a simple retrieval mission in the first place? Something does not add up.

\- - - - -

Starscream onlines, struggling as his optics seem to be deceiving him. He is most definitely not standing just outside the Harbinger. And it does not take him long to put together what happened, despite the missing chunk of memory. He is in a room fashioned similarly to the brig of the Nemesis (albeit much smaller), there is a clamp fastening his wings in an uncomfortably taut position, and his servos are cuffed.

Autobots, then. He supposes this is better than being at Airachnid's mercy, but not by much.

Starscream can remember seeing the scout and the doctor, but not clearly. He would imagine that some kind of sedative was imparted before they returned his mobility; by no means would he be a prisoner now if they'd tried reversing the effects before knocking him out.

The seeker is caught off guard by the sudden panic he experiences over Soundwave's whereabouts. It's quickly assuaged when he bothers to turn around; that makes it no less riveting.

Soundwave is on the other side of the room, standing eerily still, but clearly online. Starscream makes his way over (not that it's difficult; he takes about seven or eight steps) and is given the slightest tilt of the helm as recognition. The mech is also cuffed, though he doubts what good that does. Soundwave brings a few things to light as he reads Starscream's expression and answers accordingly.

"Inhibitor: placed. Soundwave: unable to use: data cables. Cell: being visually monitored. Audio: out of commission."

"They can see, but they can't hear. That may be useful," Starscream sighs. "I assume our comm units are disabled. Not that it matters."

Soundwave nods. "Affirmative."

The seeker mulls over their situation briefly before noticing the char marks that Soundwave's arm still bears. It isn't critical damage, nor is it superficial. "They haven't fixed you," he states flatly. Soundwave does something with his shoulder that could be synonymous with shrugging, but it doesn't serve to placate Starscream, instead doing the exact opposite.

"That's not very Autobot of them," he says, disdain evident. His optics don't leave the marred spots on Soundwave's thin arm. Soundwave shifts.

"Soundwave: refused: treatment."

"You what? You can't fly like that," Starscream points out in disbelief. Why the frag did Soundwave do that? There's cooperation with the enemy and then there's making the best of hopeless circumstances. Surrendering to a quick repair from the Autobots is something he would categorize as the latter. Otherwise the injury is a hindrance, possibly even an insurmountable obstacle, if they mean to get out of here.

The spy does not respond; he shifts again as the door slides open. Starscream is more or less annoyed by the interruption; he knows the conversation will not resume until they are alone. He is not surprised that the Prime himself has decided to address them, with the femme and the Wrecker as backup. Obvious choices, but they are the wisest ones. Starscream growls before Optimus begins speaking - the stance gives everything away.

One of them is going to be interrogated, and it's sure as the Inferno not Soundwave.

"I'm not interested in being battered around," Starscream snaps. The Prime's stoic expression changes little, except for a minute narrowing of his optics. "I'll go quietly. Straight to the talking part. But I'm not getting roughed up in the process," he continues, with a meaningful, distasteful look at Bulkhead.

The Wrecker glares back at him. Optimus nods. "Very well. You may follow Arcee."

_May,_ Starscream rolls his optics, as if he has a choice. He acquiesces nonetheless, just as he stated. Soundwave makes no move in any direction; the seeker notes upon leaving with the femme and the Prime that Bulkhead does not follow. A sentry, then. Not without good cause. Soundwave is exceptional at getting in and out of tight spaces.

Frag. That came out wrong. Thank Primus he's not thinking aloud.

\- - - - -

Megatron snarls. There is no feedback from Starscream and Soundwave, nor will there be. Laserbeak has revealed the extent to which these plans have gone awry. Airachnid has separated the contact of his two main officers from the mainframe; she could not have made her intentions clearer. He is confident in their survival; fortunately, Laserbeak has not felt anything via the bond she shares with her creator, and that means Soundwave has not been permanently offlined.

He suspects, greatly, that they are now captives of the Autobots, given that their tracking systems are disabled. The Decepticon scanners picked up the Harbinger's energy signature within nanokliks; the Autobots are at a technological disadvantage, but that does not mean a powerful beacon like the Harbinger's activation will go unnoticed.

If Airachnid has gotten to the weapon first, Soundwave and Starscream will have been neutralized; perhaps she has done the same to the Autobots, but he doubts her luck is that bountiful. It certainly won't be if she dares show herself. In a best-case scenario, they haven't snuffed her spark, either - he'd rather reserve that honour. The warlord paces as Knock Out continues his careful removal of the webbing over the cassette's winglets.

"This is worse than plastic wrap," the medic huffs, sure that it took quite a bit of time for Airachnid to be this thorough. Laserbeak is cooperative in the extreme, which makes the process easier. Unbeknownst to the mech, she is having a silent conversation with Megatron.

_:: You have the coordinates, I presume. ::_

_:: Affirmative. ::_

_:: Go once Knock Out is finished here. We must pinpoint a location as soon as possible. Deduce what you can when you arrive.::_

_:: Megatron: Autobots will not keep Creator. Creator: high-risk, ::_ Laserbeak frets, _:: Priority: find base? Priority: find Creator and Starscream? ::_

_:: Their tracking systems are offline. They are being masked, and Airachnid does not have the means. Optimus will have found a way to secure them without endangering the Autobot base. ::_

_:: Priority: find Creator and Starscream? ::_ Laserbeak is visibly excited, the lines of colour on her frame brightening as the last strings of webbing are cut away. She hovers at what would be eye-level with her leader. Megatron understands this; she is eager to correct what she views as her mistake. He does not hold this situation against the cassette, nor does he see a need to chastise the involvement of Knock Out or Breakdown. The warlord will see to it that Airachnid gets her due.

Speaking of.

"My liege," the spider begins from the doorway, leaning heavily against it. She is injured, and badly. Energon drips onto the floor. Laserbeak ascends and perches on a ridge in the ceiling, almost perfectly blending in with the ship. The other two tense, but Megatron keeps his posture and attitude relaxed. He's curious as to how the femme will explain herself.

"Airachnid. Where are Starscream and Soundwave?"

"Captured, my lord - we were attacked by the Autobots," she wheezes, clutching her side. Megatron gestures for Knock Out to tend to her; the medic is near indignant at first, but catches on quickly. The ex-gladiator has a purpose in mind.

"You were unable to defend yourselves? Even with the Immobilizer?"

"They managed to obtain it during the battle," Airachnid replies, poised and cool as though Knock Out's welding torch has no effect. "The others were neutralized. I managed to get away after destroying the weapon, but not at...cost," she says forlornly, possibly referring to Soundwave and Starscream or her wounds. The medic silently reports the damage to Megatron as he works.

_:: Blaster fire, not very heavy. She's lost energon from the side wound, primarily. Looks like slashes to me. ::_

_:: Not a blade, ::_ Megatron remarks. 

_:: I know Starscream's handiwork when I see it, ::_ Knock Out answers.

Megatron suppresses laughter. The spider is assured in her own web-spinning. Overconfidence is the downfall of many, he thinks. "Did you not think to report this to base?"

"There was a malfunction with the comm links. None of us could contact you," she enlightens them. Knock Out has made very quick work of her major lacerations; she flexes the mended plating, but it still stings.

"I commend you for your efforts, Airachnid. Of course, we must retrieve my second and third in command," Megatron states, "you might take notes from their examples."

The femme stiffens minutely. "I beg your pardon, my liege--"

"You _should_ have been begging from the moment you arrived," he replies, glancing at her over his shoulder, "Starscream knows when he is beaten. If all of your strings are not connected, it is better to grovel in sincerity than maintain duplicity."

"I-I am afraid I don't understand, Lord Megatron, it was Starscream's incompetence that cost us the mission. If he had not--"

"Let me spell it out for you, Airachnid," Megatron says mockingly, "if you were half as smart as Soundwave, you would estimate more than one outcome for your brilliant plan to - oh, how did you put it - _go rogue_. Even now it seems you're incapable of assessing the possibilities. I'll give you a chance to guess just how I know. Care to indulge me?"

Airachnid is frozen, not daring to move, not with three potential opponents in the room. Megatron stares at her expectantly. "The Autobots." It's almost a question, almost a plea. The warlord laughs once, a harsh and cutting sound.

"No, Airachnid. Do you have any notion of the consequences of your blunder?" he leers, beckoning Laserbeak from her perch. She flies to hover at his side, whirring contemptuously at the spider. Airachnid swallows, but remains silent. "Normally I would terminate you myself, but you've made it personal."

_:: Prepare the femme for Soundwave's return. Then, your priority is finding Soundwave and Starscream, ::_ Megatron commands the cassette over a private comm channel.

Airachnid bolts from the room on her eight legs, unaccustomed to being the prey. Laserbeak, all too happy to fulfill Megatron's directives, pursues the femme swiftly. This is on her terms now, and she is more cat than mouse. The ex-gladiator turns to discuss his designs with the medic and his assistant - if this complication has brought anything good, it has demonstrated that their goals align with his. And for once, Knock Out and Breakdown are allowed to snicker without reprimand.

\- - - - -

The beginning questions are generic, more intended to get Starscream to relax than anything. It's really too bad that he's so familiar with interrogation techniques; they might have convinced him to reveal something. As of right now, the seeker is having fun dancing around the questions without truly answering them.

"Your prerogative must have been more important than the retrieval of the Immobilizer," the Prime comments, "for Megatron to send both you and Soundwave, as well as Airachnid. What was the true nature of your mission?"

" _I_ don't know," Starscream sighs, "why don't you ask Megatron?"

He's not lying. Now that the Autobots are freely discussing it, he sees the imbalance of skill in proportion to the job. Megatron could probably have dispatched Knock Out and Breakdown instead, and the Immobilizer would be in Decepticon hands. But he doesn't know his leader's _reasons_. As far as Starscream can conclude, Megatron doesn't have any; that's hardly an unusual occurrence.

It does miff him that the Prime refuses to be frustrated by the answers he gives - and even more so that the mech places Arcee in charge of his guard when a situation arises to be tended to.

He hisses and shifts against the clamp. It's starting to stress the joints that connect his wings to his spinal plating. If it were even the slightest bit lower, he'd be infinitely more comfortable. "Is the clamp really necessary? It's really giving me a crick."

The femme glares at him and puts a servo on her hip. "You're lucky Ratchet didn't see fit to use the tightest setting."

Starscream grumbles half-heartedly. "You don't have to be nasty about it. I was just _asking_."

Silence descends, but it's not the same kind of silence he's used to, and it puts him on edge. Starscream finds a way to break it sooner than he anticipates. "Any reason why your medic hasn't patched Soundwave up?"

He half expects Arcee to ask why that obligation should fall on them, but she's seemingly disinterested in his presence entirely. The femme shrugs. "Why don't you ask Soundwave?"

"I heard he refused treatment," Starscream says casually, in reality very careful with his word choice. He's sure the spy doesn't intend to let the Autobots know he speaks.

"Refused is pretty vague," Arcee retorts, "guess you didn't hear about the fit he threw."

The seeker rolls his optics. "Anyone would throw a fit, stuck in here when they could be tearing out the sparks of eight-legged traitors."

"So we agree on one thing, then. What do you have against Airachnid?"

Starscream frowns. "You have no idea. All she did was pester Megatron to be a scout on this particular mission, and look where it lands us. The opportunistic glitch left us for scrap."

"Well, she terminated my partner," comes the solemn response that one-ups his grievances. The seeker's wings fight against the clamp to rise furiously.

"She's taking credit for scrapping him now, too?" he exclaims, irked. The femme expresses her newfound dubiety.

"She _did_. Is there a reason that surprises you?" Arcee says accusingly.

" _I_ was the--" Starscream stops himself short, realizing the mistake he's about to make. Incurring anyone's wrath is not in his best interests right now, and his pride is a small price to pay for moderate safety.

"You what."

"Gh - I, I don't know. I was thinking ... of someone else. This war _has_ been going on for millennia." Starscream is making excuses, and blunders again by making them too quickly. The femme is suspicious now. This won't do.

"Who are you talking about?"

"No one. Who are you talking about?

" _Tailgate._ "

The confusion he fails to cover up at the unfamiliar name is enough to incriminate him. The seeker cringes as the femme's optics burn holes into his. Blades snap out from her arms. "You were going to say _you_ terminated Cliffjumper, weren't you."

"Well, we all--" Starscream is forced to restart his sentence as he stares at the gleaming weapons, "I may have--I've terminated quite a few, er, Autobots--"

"And you're no better than _her_ ," Arcee hisses. That rankles. Starscream views himself as very much better than the spider. 

"And I'm a prisoner, and I have rights," he snaps, sounding very sure of himself although he isn't. If prisoners of the Decepticons are no different than prisoners of Autobots, he's in trouble.

Primus, Soundwave has it easy. Maybe he should take a page from the spy's book and mask his expressions with a visor.

Arcee's glare is withering, unreadable. "Like the right to answer for what you've done."

He looks away. "It's fortunate tha--"

The seeker's left wing explodes in pain. Arcee's arm blade is lodged halfway through his wingtip, and does more damage as she pries it out than the initial blow did. He is reduced to gasping; he forgot to dampen the sensornet, how could he forget? He's in the enemy base; that's the first thing that should have come to his mind. It's too late now - of course the rational side of his mentality points out that the wound isn't acute. _But it fragging hurts, doesn't it?_

He hears the Prime reenter just as Arcee brings her arm back again. Some kind of disagreement takes place. He isn't focusing, despite the discovery that internal problems are not Decepticon-specific. The Prime dismisses Arcee and escorts him back to his cell; whatever issue the mech had to deal with beforehand is still unresolved. Only on the walk back does he realize that the clamp and cuffs have been removed. Drafts of air shoot through the gash in his wing and he flinches reflexively.

He hasn't injured a wing in quite awhile, and it hurts just as much as it did in times previous.

Soundwave does not think to try his luck as the Prime enters the small cell and deactivates the cuffs on his servos. He has kept them on mostly for show; the circular design does not uphold well against his flat structure, if he is to shift his arms a certain way. Starscream bites his glossa until Optimus exits wordlessly and the door slides shut. The seeker stands on unsteady legs and uses a servo to pry at the wound, hissing as his claws aggravate sensory nodes.

The spy's optics center on the sparking wires that now protrude from Starscream's wing. Anger swells at the perpetrator of this, swiftly pushed aside by the overwhelming desire to _fix_ it. He assumes a position behind Starscream, gripping the seeker's servo and shoving it away from the tear. He lifts his own servos to the injury, patient. The seeker braces for something, wings pulling awfully taut and likely causing more pain. Soundwave makes his approach as cautious as he can.

"Soundwave: will repair," he assures the seeker, in a tone he uses with Laserbeak. And he will - torn wires, damaged conduits, and bent plating are all commonplace in the arena.

Starscream is reluctant even as Soundwave sets about fixing the wing, digits careful and calculated. The spy coaxes Starscream through it, pausing when he's had to pinch a wire to make sure it's not too much, soothing the surrounding area when there's vocal confirmation of hurt. He feels contented in doing it, too, protective, appreciated even. The fact that the seeker is not protesting is appreciation enough.

Once Soundwave is done - it only takes perhaps two breems - neither of the two say much, though Starscream gives an account of what happened. Soundwave doesn't see a need to say anything; Starscream's field, eagerly searching his out, and his responding, is conversation in itself. He makes sure the audial feed for the cell is still scrambled, just in case.

\- - - - -

Miko scowls at the Autobot leader, though it deteriorates into a pout. "Optimus, come on," she pleads.

"Agent Fowler," Optimus begins; the man shakes his head.

"Don't pin it on me, Prime. She was hiding in one of the supply crates I brought here. Left plenty of evidence, too," the agent replies, giving Miko a reproachful look. The girl winks defiantly from her perch on the railing nearest the security console.

"This location is not secure, Miko," Optimus addresses her seriously. "We would endanger you by allowing you to stay."

"Why? Is it 'cause you have Screamer? He's about as scary as the pterodactyl in Jurassic Park III. I'm not scared of him. I'm not scared of Slenderman, either. He probably took a pic of us for his blog post back on the Nemesis. I bet his Snapchat's blowing up right now."

Optimus does not understand; Fowler decides a facepalm is in order; Bulkhead is able to interpret Miko's string of references, but has the presence of mind to look bewildered. Mainly because she's managed to sneak into this makeshift secondary base, going against all warnings.

On second thought, it shouldn't surprise any of them at this point.

"Starscream and Soundwave are very significant threats," Optimus rebukes her dismissal, "and you are in harm's way. I must ask Agent Fowler to take you home."

"Wait, wait wait," she gushes, bouncing over to the console displaying security feed. "Significant threats, or significant others," she drawls.

Optimus sighs, his patience strung between Starscream's uncooperative attitude, Arcee's misguided sense of vengeance, and now Miko. Bulkhead reads between the lines and shakes his helm at her. "Miko, please."

The teen rolls her eyes and jerks a thumb at the screen. She doesn't think they're giving enough thought to the way Soundwave's touching Screamer as of the present. "You were arguing about why Megatron sent them both out, right? That answers your question, right there. Unless that, right there, is a totally normal, everyone-participates thing, in which case I'd be super weirded out."

\- - - - -

They've been here, listless and for the most part ignored, for about two solar cycles. Starscream feels as though he has achieved a small victory in convincing the Autobots to allow them a little over a breem in the washracks. It's a freedom, no matter how miniscule it is. He's rather excited, if only to be in a place where there are no prying eyes. The seeker has decided exactly how he wants to repay Soundwave's...kindness?

Anyway.

The heated stream of water over his frame is Primus-sent, despite the ache in the fresh welds. The medic was certainly surprised to see the worst of the injury already dealt with, and Starscream would be lying if he denied flaunting it, just a little, that not only medics can perform repairs.

A few kliks are spent just enjoying the showers, possibly preening, before the seeker is reminded of his original purpose in requesting this. Soundwave's frame is slick, and the rivulets of water gliding down his arms do nothing to staunch the want that slowly builds in Starscream.

Soundwave is going to like this.

"Come here," the seeker grins, "I have something for you."

Soundwave tilts his helm inquisitively, but makes no move towards him, so Starscream struts over to the mech. His wings sweep out, and then down, in a display of coy submission. The seeker's servos find hip plating and stay there. "Inquiry: intention?"

He grins again and kneels, one wing flicking playfully in the spray of hot water, which is mostly blocked by the other mech's frame. "To play with you," (oh, now he's gone off the deep end with flirting; somewhere within him there's shame, but it's not about to surface anytime soon) "- it should be easy for _me_ to keep quiet. I'll be occupied. But let's see how you do."

"Negative," Soundwave breathes, frantic clicking making any other word out of the question. Starscream's optics narrow, but not in a caustic way - he's smirking. They won't get caught; there's definitely enough of their allotted time left for him to do this. It's been a long time and he rarely allows anyone the honour, but he'll make an exception for the spy. It's only fair; if Soundwave hadn't bothered to help, he wouldn't have been able to fix the damage to his wing alone. He might have even made it worse.

"Think of it as a gift," he says, "for repairing my wing."

Starscream's clawed servos run over Soundwave's thighs, and the whirr of the spy's internal mechanics gets louder. He runs his glossa along the seam of Soundwave's panel and stops at his hip plating, determinedly pressing an open mouth against the edge.

"Nn--" Soundwave makes a strangled noise, and Starscream takes it as incentive to continue. With optics focused on the obstruction - the one thing between him and the spy's rather interesting interface array, Soundwave's panel - he begins to tease, nipping and lapping at the panel until the spy decides to retract it.

The decision doesn't happen. Instead, Starscream's spark stutters at the harsh, hysteric sound of the mech's voice.

" _Negative_!" Soundwave practically shouts. It's not loud enough to stir the interest of the sentry, just enough to startle the seeker out of his wits; he barely stops himself from toppling backwards. The spy then retreats so quickly that Starscream almost falls forward.

"Soundwave, what in the Pits--" he starts, picking himself up off his knees, irritated. He'd like to think he was performing excellently, but he doubts it if this is the reaction he's getting.

"Negative," Soundwave repeats, servos raised in defense. His arms are extended as if to keep Starscream from approaching him. "Do not: --" he shakes his helm-- "...negative."

"Have it your way," the seeker huffs, placing himself a good distance away from the spy and turning to face the hot spray of water. Soundwave heads straight for the drying vents, not bothering to look at Starscream. Everything about the mech is edgy, distressed.

Starscream finds that he's torn between anger and concern - Primus, if Soundwave avoids him again, he's going to scrap him while he recharges. But then this seems more serious; it's not as though Soundwave has objections to varied means of interface, or interface in a completely inappropriate setting. They've technically done both at the same time, anyway. It makes the seeker wonder what the trigger is, and he resolves to actually discuss this with Soundwave. They can't form an escape plan if awkwardness ensues, nor is the tension going to dissipate on its own. He's learned that much already.

Soundwave waits adjacent to the dryer vents once the residual moisture is whisked away, faceplates burning. He can't believe his own frame; his panel still wants to open, desperately, but he will not allow it. It takes strenuous effort to keep his servos from shaking as he observes Starscream, who most definitely has the same thoughtful expression as he wears when plotting _something_ against Megatron.

He is in _so_ much trouble.

Starscream's wings aid the dryer vents in flicking the last droplets of water and cleanser off. The seeker notes with more interest that Soundwave isn't ignoring him as he nears - the spy is merely skittish. Starscream calms; he knows how to use assorted devices to suit his purposes, and this will be no different. His method this time will have to be approachability.

They leave the washracks with a few kliks to spare, submitting begrudgingly to the cuffs, and in Starscream's case, the dreaded clamp. Bulkhead and the Prime escort them back to their cell, unguarded at the moment, but no less secure for it.

\- - - - -

Airachnid takes another stab at the door, which has proven to be the thinnest section of paneling in the room. She snarls, feral and outraged, into the comm channel Laserbeak has opened between them. How _dare_ the cassette chase her in here and not continue the game!

_:: Get this over with or release me, and maybe I'll spare your spark, ::_ Airachnid spits. High-pitched, mechanical laughter comes at her in waves.

_:: Terminating Airachnid is not Laserbeak's directive. ::_

_:: You insufferable creature. Then whose is it? And tell them to hurry up. ::_

_:: Game: Airachnid's processor. Speed: not required. ::_

_:: Processor? ::_

The spike of fear in the spider's EM field sends more electronic giggles streaming through the comm link.

\- - - - -

_The first week - oh, it must have been so long ago, it feels like a stellar cycle has passed - he managed to avoid the attention. He hid behind the frames of the oldest gladiators there, skirting around their conversations, in the hopes for protection. But no one here is very soft; they know what will happen, and they simply let it. He doesn't hold it against them, but he won't forget any of it._

_He didn't understand interface before the other juveniles began to talk. They whisper it, rarely ever mention it because they are harassed for it. And when he hears that mechs begin to take what they want from the others, he decides to take his own seals. He wishes he could have kept them, but it couldn't be helped. He does it as a precaution in case the mechs here try to take him, too. He won't sacrifice that to them._

_No one's secure here. He might have been better off on the streets still. What a shame he's not allowed to leave, now that he's entered. Another one of his bright ideas._

_They never demand interface, a relief, but there are other ways of satisfying their impulses, and they know how to go about getting those. He is consumed in another task while it happens, sifting through thoughts and memories like a clerk organizes datapads. He doesn't pay attention to what's going on - he learns early and fast, that it only results in pain if he pays attention._

_He'll gag, or worse, look up, and they hate that. So as his helm is held steady by servos he can't escape, he escapes into his processor - into someone else's processor, too - and plays the game he used to play with his carrier. Hide and seek. Thrust after vicious thrust sets off system warnings, and he silently stalks through the one place everyone thinks is safe as his mouth is kept busy._

_There are so many secrets; he's just learning how to work his way around firewalls, so some of them have to wait. But he tastes several, feels them, wraps a mental servo around them and squeezes and feels the emotional reaction. The mech's EM field resonates with the baser things like the lust of the moment and the drive to dominate. And under that lies the worry that someone might find out about this, or any of the other secrets, that this mech keeps. Fear. He just isn't aware that it's another presence, dredging the terror from his processor out into his systems._

_They're all the same, these mechs in this place. Hazy heat climbs outward from the EM field's host, and he knows it's time to retreat, before the other mech realizes what he's capable of. The thick mass of a spike stretching his throat tubing is not a welcoming return to the physical. It never has been, but each time renews his hatred of it even more. At least he thrives on the fear he can pull from them as they hurt him - he's not getting sick pleasure from this kind of humiliation. It's gleaning hope from knowing he'll get to shred them inside-out soon enough. It's hope for his future._

_Overload hits for the gladiator, and the juvenile chokes on transfluid, jaw working helplessly to relieve him of the building pressure in his mouth. His helm is shoved away - that means he is dismissed, or rather, that the mech will leave him alone now. Alone in some semi-secluded area of the barracks, or the training rooms, or washracks, or anywhere. Spitting against the residual taste of whoever chose to use him this time. It happens again, and again._

_As the other juveniles either die in the arena or die trying to run before they've earned their right to leave, it happens in increasing frequency. He's one of the only ones left to use._

_He learns a little more each time. He learns every secret this place has to offer, every underhanded scheme that is carefully concealed. He learns to keep his head down, mouth open and pliant, optics lowered, but that doesn't mean he can't see. He sees everything. In the earliest hours, he stays alone in the training room, teaching himself how to block, how to use the arsenal no one knows he has. Teaches himself how to warp the practice models if he thinks hard enough about where he wants their limbs to fold, how to manipulate even the simulator and bend it to his will._

_How to kill._

_So the last time it happens, a gladiator shoves him to his knees, opens his panel for the gratification that the mouth of a younger, lesser being can provide. This is what they do to all the newcomers - the unexperienced ones are for pleasure, for use and distribution. It's what the elders here didn't tell him. The arena is brutal in every aspect. People are torn to bits, inside and out, their frames, dignity, emotions. They stay here for money, for fun, for glory, sometimes as a hobby. He does it to survive._

_That mech seizes before he can even slide out his repulsive spike, frame paralyzed from commands he's not sending. A force beyond his control shuts down his systems, one by one, destroying the programs that function consciously, then the unconsciously. He writhes as murmurs of coarse laughter peal through his head; he demands that the juvenile stop. He begs for his processor to be left alone, begs for his life, and then the mech dies. It's surprising how much pressure is applied to that spark to snuff it._

_And no one touches Soundwave ever again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, _please_ tell me what you thought of this. I value all feedback and appreciate reader opinions immensely! (give me your take this eternal filth)


	8. Might As Well Face It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feels, with a generous helping of girl power and grand-scale scheming. My apologies that it's way later in coming than I assumed it would be, heh. Oh, and if I haven't mentioned before, the title of this work (and subsequent chapter titles) are taken from/inspired by "Addicted to Love" by Florence and the Machine.

The spy is grateful that Starscream gives him space. The seeker is currently recharging (how he's achieved this feat in his awkward position, Soundwave will never know). There are no berths in this cell, though there are ledges that could function as benches if the occupant so decided. Starscream has decided to power down on one, facing the wall. Soundwave guesses it's the best he can do, given that the clamp on his wings makes it impossible to sidle up against the wall, and neither of them have found a way to remove it as they have the cuffs. Still - he much prefers to see the seeker comfortable.

The spy thinks it would be a bit strange if anyone caught him right now. He observes Starscream's faceplates, shifting minutely in tandem with his frame as his systems refresh. His servo brushes over the fastened wings, a warm thrum of _something_ echoing through his EM field when the mech unconsciously presses into the touch. At least it eases the growing ache in his chassis.

He'll manage. It's only been a groon since it started.

His fitful spark pulses against its chamber, and though it does not surprise the spy that this desire has surfaced, the intensity catches him off guard. It's forceful, demanding, and it strikes a depressing chord.

This could never work, not the way he wants it to. Starscream is inherently suspicious; Soundwave is secretive by nature. Starscream expresses emotion violently; Soundwave bottles emotion until it breaks. Starscream's alliance is contingent on the present; Soundwave's relies on the past. Starscream does not invest in personal attachments; Soundwave gets so attached that it hurts.

And yet he wants. He wants what he can't have, what Starscream wouldn't give. It would be too risky, from the seeker's perspective - to entrust his spark to a spy. To someone he views as a threat to his goals, his position. Soundwave wishes he could prove otherwise, and maybe, just maybe, wishes Starscream were as fascinated with him. (Wishes he weren't so uncertain about letting Starscream in.)

He takes another look at the clamp, sweeping over it with his optics, but not critically examining the metal. Anything to derail his present train of thought and diminish the restless twinges beneath his chestplates. He is aware of the slot in which a key card would go - certainly no getting his servos on one of those - but the most blatantly obvious idea occurs to him. Restraints such as these possess manual resets, should the owner or user misplace a key card. And it just so happens that the manual reset for the clamp is an inconspicuous little hollow just above the key slot.

Most manual resets require a long, thin stylus to trigger the release. Soundwave stares at his servo.

Well, his digit is not quite a stylus, but he hasn't had complaints about this frame yet. The spy activates the reset with the insertion of his finger (Primus, he's trying so hard not to laugh at how stupidly easy that was) and the clamp hisses before giving way. Starscream shifts and murmurs, but his EM field does not indicate that he is onlining. Soundwave would expect no less; neither of them have recharged much these past few solar cycles, and Starscream's frame is not the most energy-efficient.

The newly liberated wings are so stiff - the spy doesn't think much of it as he works out the stress in the transformation seams. Starscream will be none the wiser if he does it swiftly, and at best it will eliminate some soreness. It's also a task to occupy himself with, to distract from - 

_Ow. That._

He has overheard many, many conversations, despite a much lower percentage of actually participating in them. They include those involving sparkmates during the war - few and far between, sparkmates were - describing what it was like, deciding to sparkbond. Soundwave sighs. 'I just knew' is hardly the best way to put this kind of experience. It hardly conveys the uncomfortable _pressing_ of his spark against its containment.

He brings a servo to prod at his chestplates, accidentally stirring another negative emotion while he's at it. His digits brush the docking area for Laserbeak. Primus knows where Laserbeak is, where the spider is, if that fragging femme was even legitimately threatening. His worry does not subside; he's unable to contact her via comm link or bond, a situation that has not fallen upon them for vorns. He refuses to fail his creation. And he misses Laserbeak, greatly.

Soundwave's thoughts are drawn out of their fast-moving downward spiral as Starscream's wings flicker, adjusting to a cozier angle. The seeker's pede dangles off the ledge, and Soundwave fights a smile, viciously, until he loses the battle. It spreads over his faceplates in defiance of his efforts. His fingers run tenderly over the tips of the silver appendages, teasing a sleepy mewl out of Starscream.

He tries to stop, he truly does. But the seeker's wings feels so good under his servos; if he can't physically keep this charade of a deal forever, if he can't have Starscream - he has the memory recorded.

\- - - - -

Hours of searching, groon after groon, and Laserbeak is not even remotely tired.

The coordinates Soundwave transmitted to her yield nothing of significance, aboard the first half of the Harbinger, so she explores the second. The Immobilizer is missing from the cargo hold, but she finds a shard or two that likely are remnants of the weapon. Good, then, that neither Airachnid nor the Autobots now possess it.

She knows there is little chance of her finding the main Autobot base, not by herself and certainly not just with the data she presently has. She also knows there is little chance that Optimus Prime would risk the safety of his team and location to harbor two prisoners within it. Laserbeak is aware of the Autobot cooperation with human government, via Soundwave's directives to hack their networking systems and intercept private transmissions. Her next best assumption is a facility maintained by the government, and she narrows the list by association with an 'Agent William Fowler'.

Buildings too small, or without considerable resources, (which could not sufficiently hide her creator) are deleted from her catalog. The remaining installations are still too large in number for her tastes, but the cassette must resolve to investigate them individually. The process of elimination stops once her information runs out of differentiating characteristics.

She has, thus far, thoroughly surveyed three separate compounds. One for each of the solar cycles she's been working, none of them yielding signs of either her creator or Starscream. She approaches the fourth from the air, cloaking her arrival easily. Humans have not developed a means of detecting her flight presence; she thanks her creator for his programming abilities. The cassette appreciates that she is not fighting the organics as well as the Autobots. Though their firepower is not as potent, they are a heavily populated species, and they compensate with quantity over quality.

Her route of entrance is discovered through a quick perimeter sweep. There are several windows that conveniently open outwards; she can only hope that motion sensors do not alert the occupants to her intrusion. Laserbeak swoops through, perching immediately within the metal framework of the structure's ceiling.

The cassette's scanners pick up no activity, so she startles as voices pass beneath her. Laserbeak holds perfectly still. And this is a feat of incredible achievement, since the bond with her creator reestablishes itself right then and there. It takes all the willpower the cassette has to stop from trembling.

Soundwave is worried, conscience-stricken and surprised. She can do no more than send him the reassurance that she is not hurt, that Airachnid is secured, and his presence calms considerably. She clings to the steady thrum he projects; Soundwave is still anxious, but anxious to see her.

Her next order of operations is finding her creator, preferably as soon as possible.

As it is, Laserbeak learns Bulkhead and Arcee are guarding this facility, and while she might risk her own safety out of impatience, she deems it both necessary and appropriate to wait. A few groons slip by - and what is that, as she's been out and about all this solar cycle? A few groons is nothing. The Autobots settle in to recharge, making themselves vulnerable, and Laserbeak's priority is Soundwave. Nothing more, and nothing less. She passes the separate quarters the femme and the Wrecker are using without delay.

The cassette comes across the only area in the building where it would be logical to conceal prisoners; her conjectures are proven true as she nears what closely resembles the holding cells in the brig. The technology is human, however similar to Cybertronian its design may be, and hacking firewalls is not a problem for her - the only problem is the verification needed to breach the cell. She is not an Autobot; she does not have an energy signature akin to one and so the door will not stay open long, though it has no choice but to obey the input commands. And how to get out again? Laserbeak sets up a relay that will automatically reopen the door, giving herself a groon with her creator in the meantime.

So much for taking Soundwave and Starscream with her, at least this way.

She hurtles through the narrow gap, hovering in the confined space as her creator stands before her. It's but a flurry of wings and she is finally, _finally_ within Soundwave's care again, nestled close to his torso as his servos smother her in affection. She employs a hardwire comm line, attaching herself to Soundwave's systems via her data cable and the data ports within her docking station.

_:: Laserbeak: reports. ::_

Her vehement statements that she is uninjured do not stop her creator from running a full diagnostic on her, and he is only satisfied after perusing every detail of the scan. Soundwave's EM field floods hers with relief, and a soft happiness at her arrival, in contrast with the surge of protectiveness as he learns she's infiltrated the place without backup. The cassette doesn't mind. He is entitled to be concerned, and she's missed him too much to be annoyed by it.

_:: Soundwave: regrets: neglect of Laserbeak. Offering: apology. ::_

_:: Accepted. ::_ Laserbeak vaguely thinks he doesn't need to apologize; it's her fault they weren't communicating before Soundwave's capture - but she knows her creator too well. He'll insist that it is his responsibility. 

_:: Commander Starscream: functional? Status: satisfactory? ::_

_:: Affirmative. Soundwave: apologizes for: withholding interactions: from Laserbeak. Soundwave: did not want: to provoke worry. ::_

Laserbeak whirrs, silently acknowledging this one, as she runs her own diagnostic, which her creator permits. Denying her will only make her more determined, and Laserbeak has picked up one too many skills to be deterred from scanning his systems. She questions at the stress his spark is emitting, and Soundwave is reluctant to confess it, but has decided to be honest with his cassette.

_:: Spark: strained. Objective: bonding: with Starscream. Soundwave: denying: requests. Cause of: agitation. ::_

Laserbeak is careful to keep her excitement constrained, acting as though she is mulling over the information. Soundwave can't become suspicious of her, not yet. Megatron will be awaiting her reports on her objective, as well as updates on the developments between Soundwave and Starscream. She cannot disappoint; she most certainly will if progress is not made. And progress would not be made at _all_ if her creator knew she was up to something.

After a small period of 'thought', Laserbeak sends her approval over their bond, rather than over the hardline connection. It seems more genuine to do so, and she is genuinely elated at the prospect of Soundwave reaching out to bond. Her creator has had little interest in others - and despite her knowledge of why this is so, the loss they both carry - she thinks it's high time. Especially given the darting around he and Starscream have been doing, and the conviction their leader appears to have in the awaited success of this. She knows Soundwave will give it time.

The cassette spends her remaining kliks of access reveling in the comfort of the bond. She does not, and will never, take her creator for granted, no matter how undeserving he believes himself to be. Laserbeak is dead set on seeing him happy, not merely contented.

\- - - - -

Miko curls up in front of the monitor, wholly content with herself. Not only did she achieve sneaking in again, but she's totally stocked - sleeping bag, a virtual mountain of pillows, sodas, assorted bags of chips and popcorn and candy, a pack of a-hundred-something Crayola colored pencils (she forgot her Prismas), and her handy-dandy sketchbook. What more could a girl ask for?

She sets up camp right after putting on the Mythbusters marathon, and settles in for a night of binge-watching and casual spying. Sure, sure, watching Adam and Jamie pretending they're spies is interesting for a few hours. But not when the Autobots have a real life spy on the premises.

It's probably one A.M. or so when she really pays attention to the monitors. Her sketchbook at this point consists of explosions (and wow, is she getting good at those). Screamer is napping and she thinks it's kinda cute that Soundwave keeps petting his wings. An awkward, creepy kinda cute, but still. She does a few quick doodles; Bulkhead and Bee are the only ones who cooperate with staying still long enough so she can draw 'em. It doesn't hurt to expand on her skills. Besides, when else is she gonna get to use the purple colored pencil? Purple is freakin' awesome.

If they end up in some super dorky pose together, Miko swears she's gonna march in there and tape a drawing of it to Soundwave's face. To heck with 'danger'. The 'cons are total saps - well, at least these two are - well, at least they are when they're in the same room. She still really doesn't want to be around Starscream.

A movement in her peripheral makes her look twice at the screen next to the one she's zoomed in on. The teen squints. She's been focused on her doodles for too long to see it clearly, and she rubs her eyes. Nope, still fuzzy, a little grainy blur moving around the hallway she's taken to calling 'the Cell Block'. Maybe it's just the vid quality. Eugh, like watching a movie on Putlocker before it's out of theatres. That doesn't make sense though; she can see Soundwave and Starscream just fine. Miko wrinkles her nose.

She'd better check it out. Far as she knows, Arcee and Bulk are the only ones sticking around tonight, and they're both asleep (she made sure of that before she pitched base with all her pillows and rigged the monitor to her fave channels). She rummages about the room and finds a rusty old pipe, bringing it with her in case she needs to kick some aft. It's the only thing laying around that would serve as a decent weapon.

The teen pads softly through the government warehouse in fluffy pajama pants and a death metal band shirt, bare feet making almost no noise against the concrete floor. Her goal is to get to Bulk and Arcee and tell them about the moving smear. The place is a little drafty, but she's not whining. Makes it sorta spooky; it's already dark and quiet. Now all she needs is to hear someone breathing or something.

Well, there's mechanical whirring coming around the corner. That's horror-movie worthy, she guesses. No way is she gonna die like the cheerleaders, then. Miko releases a battle cry and wildly swings the rusty pipe as she launches herself at the unidentified - _flying_...object? A giant hunk of metal catches on the ragged end of her makeshift weapon and tears off.

The teen's eyes widen - "holy SH--" - the low-cruising UFO careens out of the air and skids down the hallway, fluttering and buzzing. _Laserbeak!_

"Gotcha," she crows, and puts her hands on her hips, dropping the pipe. Laserbeak has the same purple lines that Soundwave does, and they glow brighter as Miko nears. Actually, she feels a little bad, seeing Laserbeak trying to get off the ground, but she's still proud of herself. Oh. There's energon now. Not a lot, but... scrap. The teen glances at the piece of metal that she tore away. It's part of Laserbeak's wing; the jagged edge looks...not too good. How is she gonna explain this to Bulk and Arcee? "Um..."

The fluttering dies down, and Miko thinks maybe Laserbeak is staring at her; the slit of purple where she'd expect to see optics is fiercely lit. She narrows her eyes. "What are _you_ doing here?" she says, just so she doesn't look like a softie. Laserbeak is a 'con. He's bound to take advantage of it if she's nice. And she keeps her distance - she's seen too many thrillers to get any closer.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket, and she keeps her gaze on Laserbeak while she takes it out, hitting the green button with practised ease. "Hello?" she pretend-yawns, "kinda early for a phone call."

_:: Laserbeak: was leaving. ::_

Miko catches herself before she throws her phone (new, it is new, she does not want to break the screen). What the frag?! "You _talk_?"

 _:: Talking now, ::_ is her answer, and she swears it's sarcastic. If she imagined Laserbeak to have a voice at all, it's definitely not what she imagined. He - she - it - she doesn't know - Laserbeak sounds like a _kid_. Like a freaking robotic little girl. (Definitely horror-movie worthy.)

"Dude, are you a girl?"

_:: Classification: classified. Human femme is insubordinate. ::_

"Yeah, whatever, _'con_. How did you get my number? Why are you here? You fragging talk? And how did you find this place?"

_:: Device connected: to wireless network. Hacked. Directive: irrelevant. Assist Laserbeak: in leaving. Repair wing. ::_

"I don't think so," Miko glares. "If you get out of here, you're gonna tell the 'cons where this base is. Not happening. Your boss isn't getting out anytime soon and neither is the main squeeze."

Laserbeak does not respond, and Miko takes the tilt of one winglet as confusion.

"You know. Slender's plus-one. The bae," Miko elaborates, crossing her arms as Laserbeak flicks a wing again. "Screamer, for crying out loud."

_:: Human femme: explain. Term: bae: unidentified. ::_

Miko thinks on this (she's not sure of that one herself). "Like ... a boyfriend, or soulmate or something. I don't know," she huffs (actually, it's funny, but she's not letting Laserbeak know she thinks that). 

The cassette's optic slit glows intensely before Laserbeak flips. The frag. Out. Miko takes a cautionary few steps back as Laserbeak's wings flutter, the voice on her phone climbing in register and interrupted by unintelligible beeping noises. The drone is practically vibrating.

_:: Human femme! Mates? Imply: Creator and Starscream: mates? Human femme: aware of relationship? ::_

"Jeez, calm down! Everyone's gonna hear you if you keep moving around like that - I don't know, whatever 'cons call dating, sure. Does it matter?"

_:: Assist: Laserbeak in plan: human femme. Assist! ::_

"What plan? What are you--"

_:: Plan: for Creator and Starscream: to bond! Plan: diverting. Request: assist! Human femme: will assist? Creator and Starscream: intended mates. ::_

This night went from okay, that's weird, to okay, Miko thinks her dreams are high. Too much Adam and Jamie, probably; the whacked ideas are rubbing off on her. Is she sleeping? She pinches herself just to be certain. No, that fragging hurts.

"Let me get this straight. You - a Decepticon - break into this base, and run into me - human me. And now, you want me to help you put some other 'cons in straightjackets and get them together."

Laserbeak hesitates. _:: Affirmative. ::_

Alright, so out of sheer curiosity, Miko is closer to 'assisting' than she wants to admit. Laserbeak seems pretty excited to set up the other two, but she - Miko's rather confident that Laserbeak is a girl - is still a Decepticon. The teen isn't sure whether it's politically appropriate to be wielding Cupid's bow and arrow on behalf of the enemy. What was this one doing in the base to begin with? And why is she so quick to stop treating Miko like an Autobot? "Why should I help you?"

The cassette visibly wilts. Miko feels another little pang of remorse at the torn wing; Laserbeak might be as tall as she is, possibly a little bigger, but it seems like the cassette evokes pity regardless. It's the equivalent of pouting. Laserbeak can fragging pout. _:: Laserbeak: discussed with: Creator. Sparkbond: desired. Creator: deserves sparkbond. ::_

The teen still has a lot to learn about Cybertronians, but she's not ignoring Ratchet when he gets into animated conversations with Raf. She knows enough about sparkbonding to know it's serious. "...anyone else in on this?"

Laserbeak's enthusiasm returns. _:: Megatron! Knock Out Breakdown ST-3V3 human femme, ::_ she rattles off, and with spite, _:: spider: is aware. Not privy: to plan. ::_

Miko thanks her witty teenage brain for the idea beginning to formulate, and if all goes well, they're going to have a few more team players on their hands. She supposes it doesn't hurt to aid and abet romance? Whatever. She probably should have gone to sleep hours ago. But she is definitely going to need to get Laserbeak fixed. And explain the cassette's presence to the Autobots in the morning. Not necessarily in that order, either. Frag. The girl stares at Laserbeak before shrugging. "So. Megs is a hardcore shipper too, huh."

She totally called it.

Miko has to find a way to move the drone somewhere else, and sets about the task as Laserbeak launches into an animated and detailed debriefing. Yep. 'Cons are total saps.

\- - - - -

It is still night, by Earth standards, when he emerges from recharge. Soundwave stands eerily close, but is facing the door; Starscream cannot tell if the defensive stance is meant to be protective or possessive, and isn't sure how he'd feel about either.

He rises from the ledge that now doubles as a berth, though it's not much better than the ground in his opinion. The seeker stretches - and _oh_. His wings are free. He looks from the clamp on the floor to Soundwave, getting a nod as confirmation. It feels amazing, flexing the appendages towards and away from his frame, so good that he continues for a few kliks, rotating joints and testing for residual aches. There are none.

Primus, that puts him in an infinitely better mood.

Soon, though, the silence begins to be taxing on him, as is the suppression of Soundwave's EM field. Soundwave is not ignoring or avoiding _him_ \- he is both ignoring and avoiding conversation. Starscream concludes that he shouldn't leave the incident unaddressed any longer. 

"Tell me," Starscream says calmly, standing a few meters away from the spy. There's nothing else that weighs on their minds - no room for miscommunication. So far, Soundwave has not spoken about what happened in the washracks. Starscream suspects that the mech thought he'd drop it.

The seeker is not about to give his reasons, but he thinks that once his spark starts irritatingly begging to merge, whatever it is between them is important enough to look after. And if Soundwave is not going to broach the topic, it's up to him.

The spy's helm faces down and away from him, his posture going rigid. "Subject: ...unpleasant. Subject: will invoke: uneasiness."

"Tell me anyway," Starscream replies, his composure ensuring that he doesn't come off as aggressive, even though he's demanding explanation. It's exceedingly hard to stay calm, given the anxiety starting to spread in Soundwave's expanding field, but he manages.

The spy inclines his helm in the negative.

Starscream ups the ante. "Soundwave, tell me why I made you uneasy. Please." He adds the 'please' as extra encouragement, but doesn't turn his optics on Soundwave's visor. He's not challenging the spy to answer him. He is requesting, he reminds himself. Still, Soundwave shakes his helm.

"Please," the seeker repeats, daring to reach for Soundwave's servo.

Soundwave trembles (though he does not pull his servo away), and when he does speak, it's very quiet. The seeker is adamant that there is more to the monotone this time; the mech's voice wavers. "Inquiry: will Starscream allow Soundwave: a moment?" 

He feels privileged, as ridiculous as it sounds, that Soundwave has chosen to confide in him - and his spark constricts painfully in his chassis again. Starscream ignores it and nods - of course Soundwave can take his time. He won't be impatient; they have nothing else to do and nowhere else to go. (He wishes he could punish his spark for being such a nuisance. Choosing to shove outwards now, of all times? He doesn't think so. It's not getting what it thinks it's getting.)

Does Soundwave trust him? Sincerely?

There is so much (too much) he doesn't know about the spy. He's never questioned where Soundwave came from. He doesn't know why Soundwave doesn't talk (at least not to others; the stupid privileged feeling swells to epic proportions) or why he keeps a visor on at all times. But if Soundwave is willing to answer, maybe he'll ask.

The spy's intakes stall. He isn't certain he wants to tell Starscream this, and is even more uncertain as to how he'll go about explaining it. But he opens his mouth anyway, thankful that the seeker cannot see his face as his expression twists morosely. The absolute worst thing would be if Starscream pitied him.

"In: arena. Gladiator: learns: to live," he begins, trying to feel for a path of wording that's best to take. Starscream is listening intently; it is odd and disconcerting to have the mech's attention entirely on him. He was counting on the seeker's distractability, especially concerning his own emotions, to make this less difficult. But Starscream is effectively tuning out whatever thoughts are going through his processor in favour of what he's saying. Soundwave tries not to feel pressured.

"Training: necessary. Juveniles: trained selves. Incomplete training: equivalent: juvenile offlined. Practice: regular. Other warriors: provided training assistance."

"Were you a juvenile then?" Starscream questions, even-tempered. It's casual. Soundwave's defenses slowly relax, diffused by the mildness that the seeker is exuding. He suspects it is purposeful. But he's so, so grateful for it; it steadies him. Like the servo he continues holding (embarrassing, yes, but a means of solace nonetheless. He hates talking.)

"Affirmative. Trained to: assault. Also trained: to evade. Youths: not considered: gladiators. Treated:...treated: differently."

Starscream appears pensive. The spy pauses, but decides it isn't worth dragging out. He would really rather get this over with now that he's started talking. His vocalizer already wants to fret over the next part. "Trained: to--" no, that's not -- "forced: to--" --he tries again, uncomfortable with _forced_ \-- "--used: as avenue of: grat-t-tification. Trained to: keep optics: down--"

 _Frag, he's stuttering again._ He stops himself before it gets worse. He doesn't look at Starscream

The seeker leans closer, and Soundwave reflexively flinches. The advance immediately stops, and Starscream's digits are now much tighter around Soundwave's. "All juveniles?" he asks quietly.

"Others: less successful. Interface: required. Soundwave: fortunate. Deserved: more than was: inflicted," Soundwave cringes behind his visor. As fortunate as he can get. The other youths didn't have to go through it nearly as often, or they died before it became a constant violation, but non-consensual interface is of a different caliber altogether. To lament about the things he went through in comparison to them - it's pathetic, and he won't do it.

"Primus," Starscream exvents. The flier's wings rise, extending straight and taut from his back, as he struggles not to move closer again. "Soundwave," he whispers, "you can't think you _deserve_ that - don't say that, you don't. No one would - I...I sincerely apologize that I didn't...think to ask beforehand." And then his wings fall.

Soundwave feels even more unfit to have Starscream's attention, whether sentimental or physical. Why is Starscream apologising? As far as Soundwave is concerned, none of this is Starscream's fault. His reaction prompted this exchange - he will not under any circumstance let Starscream subject himself to that. He can't place the seeker in such a position, not without remembering how awful it is, helm and optics cast downwards. Intakes blocked. The taste of coolant and bitter transfluid. It feels wrong.

He cares too much. Starscream might experience it the same as he did. And that is _not acceptable._

Starscream ventures extending another servo. Soundwave fights the urge to back away again, thoroughly distressed at all the consideration. The seeker shouldn't want to touch him, not now; his plating feels tainted, but Starscream shows no sign of stopping. Soundwave is too selfish to stop Starscream himself. "Don't think I pity you," is the first thing the seeker says - _croons_ \- and the spy bites back a sob.

The one thing he wanted for the first time he told anyone, and Starscream gives it to him. He's so far beneath this mech, in every way. The seeker is willing to drop the bravado around him, despite their association being no more than an agreement based on interface. And Soundwave won't even let Starscream see him. He's such a fantastic person.

"I understand," is the next thing the mech says, before winding arms around his torso. Starscream's EM field expands and envelops him in comfort. "Thank you for telling me."

Starscream doesn't say anything on how trauma like that should never have happened. He has no desire to enforce the abnormality of sick events. It's likely the last thing Soundwave needs to hear. Nor does he bring up the situation in the washracks anymore than he already has. It horrifies him enough that he has misinterpreted this mech so badly. The seeker doesn't think twice about giving in to the soft twinge of consideration he feels; Primus, the hurt in Soundwave's EM field is palpable, and he wants to get rid of whatever pain he can. Could be his spark's doing.

A juvenile. Starscream knows Soundwave went straight from the arena to war - and suddenly, the private nature of this mech makes sense. He clings tighter.

Soundwave tentatively returns the embrace; the seeker can't bring himself to care if the Autobots are watching or not. The gesture does not last long; it's warm, full of relief and it shatters tension between them, so Starscream does not feel offended by its abbreviation. He also notes that the spy is no longer restraining his EM field; the means of communication they have expands greatly. For example, Soundwave doesn't _say_ physical contact eases the anxiety, or that it's awkward to be standing the way they are, but Starscream feels that and acts accordingly. All this openness is useful (and it means Soundwave does trust him; he still can't fathom why it seems so important).

Thus, after their frames part, he curls his servo firmly around Soundwave's and indicates that they can sit on one of the ledges. Starscream's arm and leg brush against the spy, so close they are.

"They didn't take you?" he asks, softly, less of a legitimate question than it is a want for reassurance.

"Negative. If not: Soundwave severed: own seals. Violators: would not have had: privilege," Soundwave replies. He attempts to maintain his lack of inflection, but venom still seeps into his last statement. The spy does not anticipate Starscream's burst of laughter.

It stings, and he's sending out an enormous wave of confusion and pain before he realizes it. Soundwave withdraws his EM field swiftly. Primus, he shouldn't have said a word. He's not good with words, this is Starscream he's disclosing his own humiliation to, he _knew_ this was not a good idea. Coolant pricks and burns at his optics.

Starscream starts at this, abruptly stops laughing - furrows his brow. Oh, no. A misunderstanding; he's not laughing at Soundwave. He wouldn't. He squeezes the spy's servo, responding to the retraction with a barrage from his own field. "It must have been trying."

Pride. It's pride that Starscream shoves at him, vibrant and clear. Starscream is _proud of him_.

"So brave," the seeker whispers, "and smart, and strong, and don't you dare, not even for a klik, think you're anything less."

If the words aren't enough to stop Soundwave's intakes from functioning, Starscream's expression is. The seeker smiles wistfully at him, all sympathy. In all the years Soundwave has known Starscream (not so well until now, but still), he hasn't witnessed this expression once. He questions where it comes from. "You blame yourself. Don't."

The spy turns his helm away at this. The seeker only becomes more insistent, his other servo migrating to Soundwave's leg. And when Soundwave refuses to meet his optics, it travels to the side of his helm, persuading him to face Starscream. "Don't. Others chose to commit vile deeds, and your choice was not involved."

"Soundwave: capable of: fight-ting," he bites. He can't seem to shake that irrational misgiving. _He could have fought back harder._

"No. You would have, if you could. Someone overpowering you is not something to be ashamed of. You didn't let it break you." Primus knows Starscream has been in similar positions, but this isn't about him.

Soundwave is about to argue that yes, he did let it break him. Completely. Everything has a habit of breaking him, and Starscream can't know the half of it. But the way the seeker stares, like he's absolutely certain of what he says - the spy's helm sinks as his vision blurs.

"Don't blame yourself," Starscream repeats, this time both sharp as a command and mild as a plea. "Promise me."

_Promise._

The dam doesn't just fracture, it explodes. Soundwave is exhausted, stressed, emotionally compromised, and the motivation to suppress the sob that surfaces is absent. Suddenly it's more than one sob, distorted and ugly and wracking; he's vaguely aware of the coolant trailing down his faceplates behind the visor, but doesn't have it in him to care. The spy leans heavily on the comfort Starscream offers, a whirlwind of feelings tearing through his systems. And with the overwhelming shame, the depression flares, too. He promised the twins that he'd get them out of the blast zone in time. He promised Ravage that offlining wasn't an option.

And where are they now?

"Promise," he answers. After that, words are out of the question. At some point, the seeker shifts them; the spy faces him, and Soundwave's helm rests just between Starscream's shoulder and neck. A clawed servo traces over spinal plating and the far edges of his arms. Starscream lets the spy press into him, lets lithe servos find purchase over his wings.

"You're not broken. Just damaged," the seeker reassures Soundwave.

_And I'll fix you._

Starscream's optics shutter a bit faster, burn a bit brighter than they should. And if his spark pulses straight through his chestplates in yearning, Soundwave may interpret it however he chooses.

\- - - - -

" _Miko! What is Soundwave's surveillance drone doing_ in the base?!"

Miko looks at Laserbeak, though all the cassette does is buzz and ruffle a set of wings at her. And then shrugs, offering a sheepish smile. "Um...sleepover party?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh, Soundwave my child, what have I done to you? Let me know what you guys thought! Love all of you. Special shout-outs to Yashida, primus-why, and Chaoswolf12, for being consistent, super-supportive reviewers (you guys are the best honestly, I love your conjectures and all that, it's major motivation to keep posting)!


	9. One Track Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, been a very, very long time. Depression kind of, reared its ugly little head. I do have two more chapters in progress? I'm sorry, you guys. 175meatloaves got me back into action for you (ty doll). But um, have fun?

Ratchet is not the happiest camper in the universe, not presently. 

After a great amount of consideration - no less than is necessary - Optimus has made arrangements to keep the two 'cons prisoners. No, the main base is not in danger, and no, they are not at a deficit when it comes to resources (yet), but the medic is annoyed at having them around. 

He's busy repairing the med bay after the stunt _Soundwave_ pulled on arrival (he expected more of that out of Starscream). One klik he's administering a sedative to the seeker, and the next he has an awakening, thrashing spy on his servos. Ratchet couldn't get anywhere near the mech with a syringe. And as little as he cares for the pain an operation would cause, Ratchet knows any movement of a joint, with a tool maneuvering around inside, has the potential to cause more damage. Possibly irreversible damage, given the materials he's working with. So the angry blaster wounds on Soundwave's arm remain.

As do the fresh welds on Starscream's wing. The medic mutters to himself, still not happy with Arcee for that. He does give Soundwave credit for patching the worst parts - not with the greatest finesse, but enough to prevent much energon loss. Though Ratchet questions how, with restraints, and how Soundwave learned to redirect energon lines in the first place, especially without tools at his disposal. He shrugs this off. There is an infinite number of more important things he questions.

There have been major changes in shifts recently in order to accommodate two prisoners. Optimus has tried to make things as simple as possible, but it still puts a strain on the team. Ratchet sighs. He can't be mad at Arcee for lashing out, not with the grief of Cliffjumper's death surging anew. They all miss their fellow Autobot. Arcee misses her partner, but she is slowly learning to cope.

In lieu of all this chaos, Ratchet is noticeably more agitated, which is saying something. It is his turn to take over the vigil kept in the secondary base; Wheeljack's assistance makes it possible for him to leave the main base and give Arcee and Bulkhead a break. Primus knows they need it. A talk with Optimus appeared to help the femme restrain herself; still, after two solar cycles watching the prisoners, Ratchet knows patience might wear thin ('might' is a positive outlook, considering Starscream's attitude). His patience is likely going to do the same. The medic finishes his work in the med bay and opens a groundbridge to the secure location provided by Agent Fowler. 

That, at least, he's thankful for. The humans have come up with an extraordinary amount of support for their current needs. This secondary base is emptied of all useful information, useful weaponry, and is fully suited to housing prisoners of war. Thus far, all they've moved to it is a small supply of energon.

Walking through the bridge, he snorts to himself. The sheer ridiculousness of this situation - having Megatron's two most prominent officers captive? Almost too good to be true.

He steps into the main communications room, not anticipating the glow of the monitors and splash of colour that meets him. Miko pops up from a pile of pillows, her eyes wide. "Uh-oh."

Ratchet sighs, and somewhere between the start and end it turns into a grumble. "I'm assuming Optimus doesn't know about - "

Fluttering draws his attention to a blazing pinpoint on the frame of Laserbeak, currently covered in patterned blankets. Disbelief. He experiences disbelief, confusion, quite a bit of indignation. Outrage. That too. Ratchet doesn't bother toning down his reaction to suit the human femme. Miko has truly outdone herself this time. He can't think of any plausible means by which this came about. Naturally, Arcee and Bulkhead are nowhere to be seen.

" _Miko!_ "

The teen frantically attempts to calm things down; her nonchalance about it - sleepover party, really, that's the best she can do? - makes Ratchet even more upset. So she stands a little closer to the cassette and wracks her brain for ideas. The femme (Laserbeak finally owned up to that; Miko _knew it_ ) makes a soft humming noise, as if amused. Miko clenches a fist, reminding herself it's not the greatest idea to smack a Decepticon.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause this is hilarious," Miko huffs. "It's not gonna be funny when you bleed out all over those flannel blankets, is it? That's our only doctor right there. Ever made a doctor mad?"

Laserbeak stops humming, the optic slit dimming. Miko crosses her arms.

"Thought so."

Ratchet has half a mind to somehow restrain Laserbeak, but the other half frets at the wound exactly as it has been trained to do. He composes himself in record time and glares at the drone. Not a threat, as of now, due to the injury - but still a nuisance. A third prisoner, as is - and he'd better learn why the 'con is sitting amiably with _their_ human ally, straightaway. "Miko, explain this."

Laserbeak chitters. The teenage girl sticks her tongue out at the miniature 'con before answering Ratchet, and boy, is she reluctant. "I heard a noise, so I went after it. It was, uh, Laserbeak? And I kinda tore off her wing. With a pipe. A rusty pipe," Miko says in a tone she can only describe as contrite. (Laserbeak was creeping around their base for crying out loud. She isn't all that sorry.) Ratchet glares even more intensely, at _her_ this time. Not good. She turns the 'heartwrenching panic' dial from 0 to 100 in the hopes Ratchet's got compassion for crying teenage girls.

"And I thought, rust and metal's not good, you know? Ratch, I promise she's not gonna do anything stupid, she's hurt," Miko pleads, sparing a glance at Laserbeak, biting her lip. She forces the tears - and she's got to tell Laserbeak later that she doesn't feel even half as bad for ripping a wing off as she's pretending to. Not even a quarter. "She has a good reason to be here." 

(Does the cassette know she's acting? Maybe. Probably. Definitely. Laserbeak's pathetic, low whine follows Miko's performance. Miko grades that one: A+.)

"Hear her out," the teen adds.

Ratchet is thoroughly irked. "I don't suppose you want to become an _Autobot_ ," he directs at Laserbeak.

Alright, so Soundwave's drone does not appreciate sarcasm. Laserbeak beeps angrily, tiny tendrils sparking, and Miko throws an empty soda can at her. It misses at a variably wide angle. "You're not helping your own fragging case!"

"Miko!" Ratchet is appalled - moreso at the fact that Miko must have picked up the word somewhere, not so much that she's used it.

"Frag, sorry!"

Ratchet's optics trail toward the ceiling. "Primus, give me strength."

"I'm not that bad," Miko mutters.

"You brought Laserbeak in here," the medic snaps. "Don't you comprehend how _bad_ this is looking for you? Now, I have to contact Optimus and somehow find a way to rectify the jeopardy this puts us in. I don't know what we're going to do with _that_." Ratchet flings a servo in Laserbeak's direction.

"We already talked about that! I know, a little weird, but," she protests, "we worked everything out before you got here and--"

Laserbeak chirps--

"--Laserbeak isn't an enemy right this second. Promise."

"And what makes you think a Decepticon is trustworthy even for a moment?"

Ratchet's got a point. Miko can see the point, clear as day. Decepticons lie. She acknowledges it, but she also acknowledges she's got quite the insider's story that makes the point seem less important. And if Miko is wrong, if somehow all these 'cons are in on one convoluted scheme to get Autobots to help them out - if they got Screamer to play nice, fine - she can take the rap for that, because that's one fair gameplan.

"Well, she hasn't called Megs on us yet," Miko huffs. "And she could if she wanted to. They know where she is."

Ratchet is shaken by this, but schools his expression into something akin to distaste. "The Decepticons are aware of this location," he reaffirms, looking to the drone.

A wing flicks at him dismissively - the injured one - and Laserbeak emits a series of clicks as her mistake reawakens the sensors registering pain.

"We were kinda hoping you could patch that up," Miko says.

"Give medical assistance to an enemy," Ratchet looks for confirmation, and when Miko displays it-- "you're out of your mind. After Laserbeak's done who-knows-what in this facility?"

"She's got information that can help us, but you have to fix her before we can do anything at all with it."

"Because you trust the Decepticon," Ratchet sighs, weary.

"No," Miko quips, crossing her arms, "because I promised we'd fix her, and then she gave the information to me, and I'm not doing anything with it until you guys do the right thing and help her out."

Ratchet gawks internally, careful to keep it from his face. Humans have to be the most frustrating species he's ever encountered. He opens his comm link. "Optimus, we have a situation."

\- - - - -

"Coordinates are still at 37 degrees 07' north, 116 degrees 03' west, sir. Life signal is active, communications are deactivated," ST-3V3 reports from the second console in the room.

"Excellent," Megatron answers. That in itself indicates Laserbeak has discovered something of importance - whether it is the location of the Autobots or that of his second and third-in-command, he is uncertain. Either way, she's followed orders to the highest capability, and he fully expects an incoming hail sooner than later.

The past few solar cycles have been intriguing as far as the Nemesis social circle is concerned. Megatron gained the useful wisdom long ago that participating in any of it was detrimental, but this appears to have changed in some way, shape, or form. It's his personal opinion that the change is due to a significantly lessened number of seekers. In terms of useful information, his CMO and assistant are almost completely reliable sources. He owes it to Soundwave that he thought to consider them, and owes the current plan of action to Knock Out.

Speaking of, they have yet to discuss an arrangement for when his lieutenants return. Intervening directly isn't what he has in mind, and neither is leaving them entirely to themselves. The whole scenario is far too precarious for drastic measures. But given the cunning his CMO has shown, Megatron does not think there will be much of a problem implementing a subtle approach. The only concern he has is that perhaps mechs around here are a bit too enthralled with present events, himself included.

Ah, well. He is willing to make sacrifices for the greater good of his army. If this boosts morale, so be it.

The warlord finishes reviewing status reports - the mines are productive, save one that will be cleared out by the next orn - and heads to the medical bay. It would appear his medical team has been hard at work during his absence. Good; he'd appreciate if Soundwave were back on the bridge as soon as possible. The Vehicons put in their best efforts to keep communications running smoothly, but they can't compensate for stellar cycles of experience.

\- - - - -

Rafael holds the phone between his shoulder and the left side of his head, attempting to finish his project code and pay attention to Miko at the same time. With multitasking, one of the tasks usually suffers; this time, it's how well he's been listening. At least Jack is on the line, too. Hopefully he'll be able to clue Raf in afterwards.

"Raf?" comes Miko's voice.

"Sorry," he says, "didn't catch that?"

"I _said_ if you want to...[he doesn't quite hear the next part]...get up close and personal with another Spy Kid you should get down here," Miko repeats, no small amount of annoyance bleeding through his cell. Jack says something in agreement. Rafael sighs and goes back a few lines; he forgot to fill in one of his functions.

"Maybe. I have a lot of homework to get done this week," he says, drawn out over the course of his typing.

"I wish I had homework. This is insanity," Jack laments.

"Raf, are you kidding me?! You can't skip out on us for a grade or two. The whole team's up. You'd work it out anyways, you always manage that! Do not tell me you're going to pass on face-to-face Decepticon bonding time just so you can write a couple history essays," Miko nearly shouts, tinged with static. Raf winces; she's probably yelling with the phone right next to her mouth.

"Chill out, Miko," Jack scolds, "some people aren't okay with detention every other day, thanks."

_Hold on._

"Wait, wait, wait, Decepticon?" Rafael prompts. He gets a frustrated noise.

"Were you listening to any of that?" Miko asks, accusingly.

"...some of it," Raf admits, "but what about the Decepticons?"

"It's cool, Raf, I can tell you most of it if you want to call when you're done. Actually, it's a long story. You think you're going to make it here anytime soon?" Jack seems relatively calm compared to Miko. Rafael is relieved - can't be that serious, then.

"Most of it? I can tell you all of it, straight up," Miko claims. Raf can almost see her putting her hands on her hips.

"No duh," Jack replies, "you've been here the whole time. Not that you were _supposed_ to be here."

"Jealous," says Miko, "just because you didn't take out a 'con."

"What?" Rafael wishes he'd been paying attention to start with, but it's too late now.

"Well, if you want the summary to start off: Screamer and Soundwave ran into a rough patch and they're sitting pretty in cuffs down here, I whacked Laserbeak's wing off with a pipe and she's a girl, and she says that every fragging Decepticon including Megs is jumping on the bandwagon to make Stilettos and Co. confess their feelings because they started banging like a month ago," Miko says in one breath flat.

"Miko!" Jack yelps.

Rafael drops his phone and scrambles to pick it up. He temporarily forgets about the blinking white line on his screen insisting he continue its infrastructure. "Th-- _what?_ "

"Totally. Banging," Miko deadpans.

Rafael, severely disturbed, listens to the subsequent insistence from Miko to get to base, right alongside Jack's spluttering; he really needs to finish his homework.

\- - - - -

_"They said you didn't talk."_

_If Soundwave is startled, he doesn't show it. The young mech regards the other, sitting to his left, without indication he's doing so. This one is new, every inch of his frame screaming sharp and brutal - curves, dangerous points, serrations, built-in weaponry. Formidable in terms of size, but the upgrade he'll soon undergo is larger yet, and some of the gladiators here dwarf them both._

_He hasn't seen him before, which allows for a certain degree of study. Nothing more than the usual intrigues - where he came from, what level of intelligence he functions at, how he fights, et cetera. The curiosity will fade within nanokliks, as the mech is probably speaking to Soundwave on a dare. Mechs around his age do this quite often, caught up in fear, envy and mischievousness. Most times the talking turns into picking a fight._

_He hasn't responded once. He doesn't understand why they still try. Stubbornness, he presumes. The thought that if they persist long enough, they'll crack the walls he's constructed. Soundwave defines the efforts as futile._

_The silver shoulder to Soundwave's left raises in a half-hearted shrug as its presence is completely ignored. "Clever."_

_He tilts his helm at the newcomer; his face conveys nothing. The visor has thus far been a beneficial investment. Though beneath it, he still controls his expressions as habit, he does not_ need _to_. 

_"The silence. First sign you don't want to talk. Reasonable, too. Mechs here are complete imbeciles for the most part. I suppose it's a good thing you have the self-control to keep it up. Others aren't so patient with them."_

_He gives this straightforward mech props for guessing; he's partially correct. Soundwave did choose to end all verbal communication because the people here are obnoxious. Not that he blames them for it, no one in the Pits has the option of being very educated - still, he'd rather not have to speak to them at all._

_But he also chose this because of the glitch in his vocalizer, which is incidentally his fault (and he's not sure if he can fix it. That's what he gets for cutting off an upload, isn't it; but he needed that information. A worthwhile sacrifice). And because his throat tubing possesses a generous layer of scarring._

_He refuses to convey it to the medical personnel (he doesn't trust any of them. Not with so much corruption. The media reveals a new scandal almost daily). He continues to stare at the frames that pass him by as he remains motionless on the bench._

_"The mask I'm not understanding. The suspicion they've got here is some kind of...scarring. Presumption, entirely, but if you had visible scars, that would be a mark of glory. And you would display them, like trophies, instead of hiding them. Yet..." the mech narrows his optics. He looks as though he is about to speak more on the subject, but decides against it - "no. It's not pretentious, either?"_

_Soundwave pauses, inclines his head in the negative. It is the only form of acknowledgement anyone gets from him. At least this mech appears to have considerably more insight than the other young adults. He gives credit where credit is due._

_"Good. If it were, we would not be cooperating during simulation training later. Which we are," the mech says, standing. He issues the statement like a fact, knowing it won't be challenged. Soundwave has spent far too long mastering apathy to do that. (To challenge anything means to care about it. If he really wanted to oppose someone anyway, all he'd need to do is take a few steps forward.)_

_"They said to try to beat you if I wanted to survive here. I find collaboration is more effective when it comes to surviving."_

_And then he's leaving, just as abruptly as he arrived._

_Soundwave thinks about this conversation for a long time, after the mech has departed from the training sector. He's not sure what he labels it._

_How the mech apparently has no questions as to why he wears the visor, aside from whether he has a 'compelling' intention or not - it sticks as strange. A quick scan of the mech's processor would alleviate some interest, but he hardly thinks it's called for. So, out of respect, he appears at the training session in the simulator later that solar cycle - punctual, as always. He cooperates, but he does not assume the mech will cover him when the simulation begins - and even though he does prove able to do so, Soundwave does not place trust. Not just yet. He learns that the mech's name is Megatronus. He keeps an optic on him, just in case._

_It turns out they have similar modus operandis; not an orn later, Megatron tears into a gladiator (specifically, Curbstomp, a renowned slagger) for advancing on a juvenile. The mech is put in the med bay. Soundwave graces Megatron with some form of approval - covering for him in the arena. It's enough to start another one-way chat._

_The mech is a little odd, Soundwave finds. He doesn't complain because he's just as strange in this sea of unruly warriors; hypocrisy is not a behaviour he leans toward. He might enjoy the company, too. Megatronus doesn't seem to care that his new acquaintance isn't an active conversationalist. Soundwave finds he needs to test this. Comradery comes few and far between, and for him, never. Not after strange things begin happening._

_Two solar cycles later, Curbstomp's spark fails, just as he's allowed to return to the sparring field. Sudden. Abnormal. Unexpected. And if Megatronus suspects anything, he doesn't say - just sips at his energon and sticks around, unbothered by floating rumours. ('Spark-snuffed', they whisper, 'he shouldn't have gone after the kid, you know how Soundwave gets.')_

_Tentative alliance. That's as good a label as any other, Soundwave guesses._

\- - - - -

She eventually removes herself from the room that twittering drone locked her in, by weakening the softest spot - right along the door - until it's pliant enough to drill through. No alarms are set off at her escape. Laserbeak isn't around, and if she is, she's not making appearances. Airachnid snarls as she begins exploring, recognizing where she is. The area is by far the messiest configuration of hallways aboard this ship, completely devoid of supplies, Vehicons, anything, laying more towards the war vessel's core; it won't stop her from coming out victorious. Airachnid has always been able to manipulate the direst of circumstances to her own advantage. 

Eugh, though she's proud of it, she naturally associates the trait with Starscream. Repulsive. She hopes the glitch is suffering.

She surveys each trail of hallways again. There is no route of exit, that much is evident. The hull of the Nemesis is too thick, reinforced besides, and Megatron has likely secured the perimeter of her 'containment'. Airachnid can try her odds against several Vehicons, but she is not keen on facing a whole squadron, or more than one squadron, in her weakened state. Drilling aggravated her wounds, unfortunately. The welds on her side have worn, energon seeping through some. One of her legs is in bad condition - fragging _Laserbeak_. 

The Insecticons are not responding to her calls.

The spider makes a noise of irritation as she attempts to use a main console. Any information that can be gleaned is of use; if she can contact someone, even better. Contact means a chance at convincing them to assist, or convincing them to come close enough to be fair game. Her attempts thus far at operating the computers aren't getting anywhere, and she half-heartedly hits this one's keypad in her frustration. Each terminal she comes across in the veritable labyrinth of corridors is shut down, both in terms of hardwire and network. No access for her - ah, well, it seems Laserbeak hasn't been careful enough. 

A few energon cubes sit in a small alcove. It is an offshoot of the maze-like sector, containing little more than a miniature console and storage units of scrap. Airachnid almost passed it by. She digs through several of the units; nothing she procures is of much use in getting out of here. Still, Airachnid is content with her discovery, especially when she finds that the console is still fully functional. The spider sips from a cube loftily as she enters the network, which has not been blocked or disconnected. She makes a face of distaste; the energon is medical-grade and utterly bland.

Something is wrong.

She cannot manuever her way through the database, or access the communications system. Any command or dialogue she inputs is completely ignored and redirected. No matter her order, she ends up in the same place - an unnamed program, an unlabeled mapping diagram. Within it, two unspecified markers blink. Airachnid huffs, sipping more energon, which proves less than enjoyable. 

The femme narrows her optics, as if that will help her analyze the chart before her. Curse Laserbeak to the Pits and back, and if Airachnid does not get to dismantle the petulant creature, she will be sorely disappointed. Nothing about the screen wavers or changes in the ten kliks she spends staring - just two markers amid blue lines.

The cube slips from her servos, clattering on the floor and spilling some of the energon. She mutters a curse; she needed that.

\- - - - -

"This is a surprise," Wheeljack mutters, glaring at the thing on Ratchet's operation table. A miniscule feeler sparks in his direction. Ratchet's welding torch comes dangerously close to healthy biomechanics, and the feeler retracts, albeit reluctantly.

"You keep yourself in check," the medic warns the cassette, and then turns his expression on the Wrecker. "I want to get this done. If you don't mind."

Wheeljack rolls a shoulder. "Yeah. Sorry." He re-tunes in to the conversation Bulk and Miko are having - not the quietest one, either, so he doesn't see why _he's_ getting called out on running his mouth.

"Miko, I know you believe her, but even I can't make sense of spark scans and I'm a Cybertronian," Bulk tries to reason.

"I'm not kidding!" Miko retorts, "Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I can tell if something's wrong with it. And let me tell you, that scan's freaky with a capital F."

Ratchet groans and gives them a look that screams consequences if they don't cooperate. "And as a very experienced medic, I'm _validating_ Laserbeak's information."

Bulkhead kneads his servos together. "Ratchet--"

"Ahp, I don't need to hear it. We're waiting until Optimus gets here, and that's final. Then we're discussing this. For now, all of you can be quiet."

Wheeljack cocks a brow; guess it's not just him. He stands corrected. "Oughta get out of here anyway, Bulk. Thing's creepy enough without it looking at you."

Bulkhead glances at Laserbeak, who lets out an unnerving, musical chirr, and decides Jackie's idea is for the best. Either lobbing or taking a walk around the prison-block - both are preferable to being around the drone. Bulkhead is not a fan of those extra limbs. "Miko, you want to come with?"

"Miss out on surgery? All that gory stuff? Yeah, right," she huffs. "If it gets boring I'll catch up."

The Wreckers head out, just in time for Miko to send a wink in Laserbeak's direction. Fortunately for her, Ratchet has better things to do than watch her. Unfortunately, Ratchet doesn't need to look up to know she's up to something. "Miko," he says, just edgy enough that she thinks better of irritating him.

The medic finishes with the smaller joints, though it takes significantly longer to repair them than the larger ones. Miko did a number on the flier's wiring, that much is certain, and Ratchet suspects Laserbeak will have calibration issues in the near future. There is nothing he can do for those. "Good as it's going to get. Optimus will be here soon, but you stay right there," he states, stern and unyielding, "and if you so much as make to fly out of here, so help me I'll weld more than one of those wings to that table."

Laserbeak does not take the threat lightly, shutting down her minor motor function protocols. She cannot afford to fail her directive. Her gaze falls on the human femme, whose facial features remain twisted into a pout. The medic begins replacing the tools on his workbench, at which point Laserbeak flashes her optic sensors at the femme. The pout twists into a grin - plan in action, and moving forward.

The call comes in to activate the groundbridge. Ratchet comms the others (save Bumblebee, who has volunteered to monitor the prisoners for now, and Wheeljack, who just received a comm from Rafael) to attend the main base, before opening the bridge. Optimus steps in, prepared to behold something out of the ordinary.

"Hope you're ready for this episode of General Hospital," Miko pipes. She sighs as not one, but three mildly bewildered glances are sent her way. "It's a shocker."

\- - - - -

She figures out the first. One marker indicates her location, mid-ship aboard the Nemesis and slightly off center. Airachnid exvents slowly, optics drawn to a chronometer that suddenly opens in the top, left-hand corner of the monitor's display.

 _16:05:41, 16:05:40, 16:05:39_...

It counts down. Airachnid has never been easily distressed, and takes great pride in that, but she will acknowledge there is something enormously unsettling about the turn this analysis has taken. She moves to shut down the console and is rewarded with a blast of audial feed. 

Laserbeak laughs, synthesized and childish and taunting, with every press of Airachnid's servo. The femme draws back, hissing. The chronometer's indicator changes colour, from white to red; the screen has locked in place, and she cannot divert it from its current presentation. 

_She planned this,_ Airachnid thinks, processor overwhelmed by spite for the drone, along with a crippling dread. _This is no stroke of good fortune._

Airachnid's visuals send her an error report, pinging through her central systems. She attempts to pick up her half-finished cube of med-grade, only to have perception distort and throw her off and knock her helm against the console. She has the sinking feeling the med-grade is another planned find, and that it isn't purely med-grade.

For the first time in a very, very long while, the femme feels a tiny semblance of fear settle into her de-sensitized spark. Everything comes crashing into place - the isolation, the quiet, the carefully placed avenues of success that dwindle into failures - she's read about this. An obscure datapad from long ago detailed it, of course, leaving out any mention of Laserbeak or Decepticons.

When Airachnid was more or less unoccupied, she read about this. Some unclassified journal written by an Autobot spy; everyone chalked him up to being mental. Coincidence, perhaps. But she doesn't think so. She doesn't believe in coincidence.

The mech - why can't she recall his name? - did not finish the journal. All she recalls clearly is "don't touch the projections"; she isn't in a position to make much sense of that. Or much sense of anything. Her visual feed starts spinning.

According to Laserbeak, this has all got something to do with a game and Airachnid's processor. Airachnid's main lines feel like they're running chilled energon; she cannot fathom - with any insight at all - what game she is supposed to be playing. All she can do is stand and stare at the blaring markers, which her optics can't quite focus on. She can wait, as the chronometer counts, tick after painstaking tick.

\- - - - -

It's been a few groons since they talked, and Starscream still doesn't regret that. They've been silent since, which is half due to his being lost in his own thoughts. The other half is due to giving Soundwave some recuperation time. His servo hasn't left the other mech's. The restless pull of his spark hasn't left, either. Starscream cannot, for his life, decide whether the former causes the latter or assuages it. Perhaps a little of both. Amazingly, the situation feels far from awkward.

He really does marvel at Soundwave's complexity, as they sit there in quiet - so completely unbreachable, and yet. The seeker likes learning; anything that captures his attention and warrants decisive action on his part. Maybe his intrinsic curiosity is outweighing his paranoia.

Soundwave could still be part of some larger ploy. Could be dedicating that strong work ethic to some less-than-polite scheme. He has more leverage than Starscream would like in this situation. Plenty of strings to pull should Starscream pose a problem, all of which are more personal and therefore more effective, now that Starscream's spark is acting up. Worse yet, if Soundwave is capable of the things Starscream suspects, nothing is safe, nothing at all. 

By all logic, he should be off the charts in neurotic frenzy at this point.

For once, he places things into perspective and is more or less comfortable with the scene. Soundwave's intent can't be malicious. The mech possesses loyalty over anything else, far as he knows. He wouldn't chance the stability of the cause for his own ambition. And that's what Soundwave would be risking in manipulating Starscream - the cause as a whole. Starscream knows what damage he could inflict if he so chose.

He considers how he's also become a confidant. That, if anything, is reason for a small measure of trust, is it not?

These reassurances ease him back into awareness, where the spy's servo is motionless in his own, but holding firmly. He leisurely rubs his fingertips against the very edge of Soundwave's arm, where the joints of the mech's digits connect to it. More experimentation, for what will eventually be a very concise, very effective plan of action. He analyzes his results - consisting of some undefinable pulse in Soundwave's field and a light squeeze of his servo - and draws his conclusion. 

Starscream isn't impulsive, per se. He weighs the opposite sides of any given situation, picks what he thinks will afford him the best outcome, and acts. Given, he may get to the acting part rather quickly, but still. He makes every decision this way, even the heavy ones; sometimes they pay off, and sometimes they don't. The objective he sets is no different (it does need a little tailoring, but, eh).

He does his best to ignore the itch that comes from his spark fighting its casing, which is irritating him to no end. Can't he have one nanoklik? He regards the burning sensation bitterly - won't even let him have a nice thought or two, will it. It seems not. He'll just have to think about it later, then. For now, he traces a few glyphs on Soundwave's arm, bored out of his mind and yet reluctant to be distracted.

And despite the pulsating discomfort his spark is causing him, Starscream is contented to sit within close reach of the spy, fields enmeshed. Contented that it takes place under Autobot custody? Not so much. Still, the absent-minded brushing of digits lends him a measure of calm, which he takes care to savour.

Two things he is certain of. First: this plan of his will either end in catastrophe or, dare he think it, success. Second: someone always sees fit to interrupt a perfectly good moment and turn it sour.

\- - - - -

"As in 'who-gives-a-frag-when-and-where'. Outside in plain daylight and in the hallways _and_ on the computer in the middle of the bridge," Miko exclaims. "What did you think I meant by 'totally'?"

"I think that's going on the list of things I don't need to hear ever again and I didn't need to know in the first place," Jack moans, and puts his face in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, had a lot of fun finishing this one up. Please let me know what you thought of it! Your reviews are priceless. Missed you all, and hopefully I'll be back on track now. Next up, deal-cracking.


End file.
